Naruko: The Story Retold
by dbrame91
Summary: This is a Naruko Uzumaki story. Kushina lives and raises her the best she can. In this story Naruko grows up in a brothel, from the ages of 3 to 8 years old, with her mother. Around the time that Naruko is 8 she and Kushina return to Konoha. The canon events take place a few years later than canon, and other changes will occur. Rated M for language and sexual content.
1. Chapter 1

_Naruko: The Story Redone_

By: dbrame91

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Prologue 1: Kushina

3 years ago Kushina was the wife of a great man. To be exact, he had been Namikaze Minato, the 4th Hokage of Konohagakure. Kushina had been happy, she was surrounded by people who she loved and who loved her back. She was an expecting mother. She was even a respected ninja in her new home village as well.

Of course, none of this meant that she didn't have some less then happy things in her life. Everyone from her clan was either dead or so far scattered across the Elemental Nations that her chances or reuniting with them were always dwindling. When she was sent to Konoha, it was to take the place of Uzumaki Mito as Konoha's jinchuuriki. Sadly she had become the vessel of the Kyuubi, a demon fox that was made of hatred and anger.

 **Flashback start**

But all of that was until October 10th three years ago. On that day, Kushina went into labor. Normally labor would have been a usual affair, however because she was a jinchuuriki the effort of child birth could lead to the seal keeping the Kyuubi in her to weaken and even break. So she had been taken to a hidden location where she was watched over by her husband, to keep the seal in place, and two midwives to see her through the struggle. Child birth went off smoothly, not accounting for the screaming and flared temper often included in the process, and with Minato there, the seal stayed in place.

Over the 9 months of pregnancy Minato and Kushina took great effort in thinking of a name for their child, but were unable to think of one. That was until now, Kushina had just been given the tiny wrapped bundle that held her blonde haired baby girl and she could feel her heart melting right there. This is when Kushina decided on the name; Namikaze Naruko. She knew that there was no other option, it was just the right name and she could tell. Minato gently took Naruko from his wife, and handed the baby to one of the midwives before turning to Kushina and praising her.

With all the joy she and Minato were experiencing, they both failed to notice when a stranger in a robe and mask appeared in the hidden cave and killed the two midwives before taking their daughter in his arms to use her as a hostage. He began to demand that Minato step away from Kushina while holding a kunai to Naruko. Both parents could hear the malice in the man's voice, forcing Minato to obey the man's orders. After a short lived confrontation between the man and Minato, ending with Minato using his **Hiraishin** to get Naruko away from the danger, the masked man began to try and pull the Kyuubi from its host. As soon as Naruko was safe Minato returned to the cave and interrupted the man's attempts and stopped the unsealing, before moving his wife to the same location as a now crying Naruko.

Once mother and child were together Minato began to hunt for the masked man back in the area of the cave. He found the man in question in a clearing quite a distance away from the cave. Both men were angry and more than ready to fight. During this exchange Minato was able to discover that the man had a Mangekyo Sharingan which allowed the masked man to perform some type of space-time jutsu involving moving his physical, but not visual, presence to some kind of unreachable pocket as well as moving targets of his choice. The fight was slowly reaching a stand still until the masked man tried for the second time to send Minato into the pocket dimension while they both fought hand to hand. It was at this point that Minato created a shadow clone with no seals to stay behind while pulling the man with him into the dimension. Once both men where in the dimension Minato used one of his three pointed kunai to take out the masked man's eye and destroy it.

Back in the world left behind, Kushina had followed the feeling of Minato's chakra to the clearing where she found the clone, that then told her of the fight and Minato's plan to hopefully trap the man. The Minato clone then told Kushina that if the real Minato had not returned in 1 day's time that both he and the stranger were trapped on the other plane and neither would return. He then begged her, that if that was the case, to keep going for Naruko's sake and hopefully move on with her life.

Kushina waited three days. The first day, she waited in the clearing with Naruko in her arms, watching intently with tears in her eyes. On the second day Kushina was joined by Jiraiya, Minato's teacher, as well as the 3rd Hokage, Sarutobi Hiruzen. The third day Kushina waited at home while ANBU units, having been ordered by the 3rd, held the clearing to watch for Minato's return. After these three days Minato was declared KIA against the masked man, who was presumed to share the same fate.

Late into the night of the third day, or early in the morning depending on how you see it, at 2:30AM Kushina was up writing a letter for Sarutobi, apologizing for her running away from the village with Naruko. The letter also expressed a desire to be left alone so she could raise her daughter in a safe home, away from the dangers of being a ninja. Kushina finished her letter and sealed it in an envelope. Sneaking into Hiruzen's office to leave the letter on his desk was easy as there was no one around. Kushina chose to leave Konoha through the southern gate, heading towards the Land of Waves, with Naruko strapped safely to her back.

 **Flashback End**

Now with three years following that cursed but also joyous day, Kushina was in a soft green traveling dress, her hair died black rather than **Henged** , and kept up. Naruko was now three and holding Kushina's hand. She was wearing a light orange dress with brown shoes on her feet and her blonde hair reaching her lower back. Naruko's bright blue eyes looked over at her mother gently, reading Kushina's nervousness.

The past three years had been rough on both Uzumaki's. Kushina had tried to live as a traveling seal mistress under an assumed name but slowly watched herself fail. Over time Kushina had found that no one needed her services, except for the rare ninja in need of exploding tags or shrines wanting new sealing tags. This lead Kushina to sending Naruko away as she tried to work out deals for a place to stay, that too often devolved into fulfilling a man's baser desire. Kushina would not lie to herself, she felt like a failure each time. However she wanted to stay away from Konoha, the village she often used as bedtime stories for Naruko, as long as possible.

After all that, this had to be Kushina's biggest failing yet, or so she thought, as she looked at the sign over the door in front of her. The sign read, in gaudy neon yellow letters, "The Golden Garden" on a red backing. This building was Kushina's last hope before she would _have_ to return to Konoha in shame, even though she was sure she would never be able to respect herself again. The Golden Garden is a brothel/hostess club which caters to many desires and needs from simple food and beverages with musical entertainment, to more explicit services. 'Honestly this entire village seems like a place Jiriaya would come for research,' Kushina thought when she had first come in off the road.

The Golden Garden is located in Koriyo village, a small village between Konoha and Land of Waves. Koriyo had been an average, well off farming village before the Golden Garden came around. After that, the entire village was slowly bought up by other brothels. This mass land grab was because Koriyo was the meeting place of 10, often busy, roads used by merchants and other traders. After about 4 years there was nothing but brothels in the village, this lead to Koriyo earning a second name that was vaguely ninja like; the name being "Village Bathed in Neon." The businesses here all catered to one desire or another, including one that provided "ninja girls," who were just normal girls taught to use chakra for **H** **enge** purposes to attract more clients.

Kushina gripped Naruko's hand a bit tighter as she stepped towards the door, only to be stopped by a man's voice calling out to her, "I don't know who you are, but this is no place to take a child with you." She looked in the direction of the voice, failing to believe that she could miss the tall man standing there. He wore a dark skin tight sleeveless shirt and slightly baggie pants with several pockets on the legs as well as arm warmers that were in a fading cow print fashion. This man was, to be honest, quite handsome even if he was missing both his eyebrows and his hair was kept short but wild.

Kushina could tell by just looking at him, this man was a ninja. It was in every fiber of his presence, the eyes that carried the faces of killed men, the build that must have come from wielding the large sword on his back. Even the way he stood portrayed confidence in his ability. The man did not openly wear a hitai-ate so Kushina could not tell where he was from. "My apologies Shinobi-sama, however I have no one who can watch my daughter while I go inside."

The man grumbled for a bit before returning to the conversation. "Cut the 'sama' crap. My name is just Momochi Zabuza. And you still shouldn't take her in there. If you want, leave her here with me. I was hired by this place so I will be here all night." Zabuza offered in his deep voice, showing no emotion in it. Kushina was shocked to hear his name, there was no reason that she knew of for one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist to be in this village without displaying his allegiance to Kirigakure.

"Thank you Momochi-san, my name is Kobayashi Hitomi. While I appreciate your offer, I could never ask a shinobi of Kirigakure to do such a thing." Kushina responded, trying to draw more information from the Swordsman. At this Naruko squeezed her hand, drawing her attention to meet Naruko's eyes. "Yes honey?"

"I'll be okay kaa-san. I will stay with Moo-kun." Naruko said in her soft voice, her blue eyes expressing her will. She then looked at Zabuza and greeted him in a polite bow, "Hello! My name is Kobayashi Naruko and it is nice to meet you." Naruko states as she comes out of the bow. Kushina is glad that Naruko used the false last name she had come up with when she started her long journey.

At this, Zabuza sighed and waved the girl to his side so they could wait. "I will be back out to collect my daughter shortly Momochi-san. You better make sure she stays safe." Kushina says waiting for some kind of recognition on Zabuza's part before getting a small nod from the man. With this Kushina opens the door to the Golden Garden and requests to speak with the owner of the business, a slightly older woman refered to as "Orchid Ayame."

It takes Kushina an hour to explain why she wants to work at the Golden Garden, saying it is so Naruko can have a roof over her head and warm food. Before the owner agrees to give her the job, Ayame goes over how the Garden operates as well as the roles every girl fills. All people who live there work there also, that means Naruko will as well after she turns 5. Naruko will start off as what the Garden calls a Poppy, any girl under the age of 15, who act as musicians for guests. Ayame then goes on to explain the other roles; Lillies are the hostesses, Daffodils are the singers, Lotus are dancers, Roses serve as the prostitutes, and the Orchid is always the Mama-san.

With Kushina's hesitant agreement to all the terms, which comes with a promise that Naruko will not have to be a Rose if she doesn't want to be, she is given a job as well as a room for her and Naruko. Kushina then goes outside to collect Naruko, and finds her blonde daughter talking Zabuza's ear off about all the places she has visited. Naruko is just about to tell the man her dream of being a ninja when Kushina interrupts her and tells her about their new home.


	2. Chapter 2

Naruko: The Story Retold

by: dbrame91

A/N: So my first chapter is doing better than I first thought it would. Thank you to everyone who has read and favorited it. If you come across anything you would change, please feel free to let me know via PM. I do mean it when I say thank you. It feels incredible to see my story has gained even one new follower.

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Prologue 2: Kushina

Naruko is still 3 at this point.

Kushina used the first month to get used to her new job. She learned everything that she could; including the make-up and wardrobe differences between the Flowers, as well as what she was responsible for doing. She chose to take on the roles of a Lily as well as a stand in Daffodil. As a Lily she was supposed to be sitting with customers, pouring them drinks, talking to them. Ultimately her job was to drive male customers into hiring one of the Garden's lovely Roses for the evening. As a stand in Daffodil Kushina had to learn the songs that people were likely to request as well as improve her singing, something that Minato would have agreed she needed if he was still around.

Learning how to do the make-up was difficult at first but she caught on. Poppies where supposed to be kept innocent and clean, so the most they had would be soft colored eye shadows. Daffodils needed to draw more attention on stage than Poppies, so they tended to have on more vibrant eye shadows as well as lipstick that matched the color. Lillies had to be sultry, this affected their make-ups by having them use more mysterious, and usually darker, colors such as midnight blue and almost royal shades of purple. Lotuses were more formal dancers, to reflect their traditional dancing they did a full white face with eye shadows and lipsticks that matched their kimonos. Roses, who were the bedroom workers, use a more lusty color scheme of pinks and reds.

"Hitomi-san, I need some help. I have a couple of customers in the next room, but I can't get rid of the guy in the corner booth." At this call Kushina looks up from counting her latest tip, not a bad tip but could have been better for how much that guy drank. She looks over at her fellow Lily, who sometimes works as a Rose, Ai to see her pointing towards the corner booth where she is just able to see the back of a man's head and his shoulders. The man seems familiar from what Kushina can see, long wild white hair, green haori under a red vest. This is more than enough to worry Kushina so she happily agrees and walks towards the other room until she hears the man laugh. That is what gets Kushina moving. That laugh could only belong to Jiraiya, one of the last people she wants to run into here at the Golden Garden.

"Hey Ai-chan, where did you go? I'm feeling lonely with you over there, talking to that black haired babe. Is she new? Invite her over," came Jiraiya's voice right as she luckily turned away from him. Kushina had to fight every one of her instincts to keep herself from hitting him. Ai turned back to Jiraiya and shook her head before walking back to the table. "No, she needs to go take care of a group in the next room. Maybe next time you are in town Jiraiya-sama." Kushina could actually hear the false smile in Ai's voice and laughed softly as she opened the divider to the group room and stepped inside.

Thirty minutes later and Kushina was ready to call it a day. The group that Ai had pawned off on her had to be her least favorite type. They were perfect gentlemen to her and the other Lillies at first but this was their first time in the Garden, so they thought that if they flashed some Ryo they could get the type of attention they wanted from any of the girls. Once they started to drink they got worse. Hands wondering and lips getting a little too close. "Come on Hitomi-san, let's go find somewhere a bit more private." The man on her right begged, his hand wondering up her thigh and face a little too close to her ear for her comfort. She gently removed his hand and put it back on his lap.

"I've already told you Daichi-sama. All the girls here are Lillies, if you want to have some private fun then you need to talk to one of our Roses. I would recommend Emi, she is a very beautiful woman who is willing to do almost anything." Kushina happily told him as politely as she could. It was after she stopped talking that Daichi's hand found its way further up her leg. He was rubbing her thigh, slowly working his way towards her womanhood. Again she moved his hand back to his own lap and was about to walk away, strictly to "get more sake" for the rest of the group. She was actually going to call on Zabuza to remove Daichi from the building. After only getting one step away her wrist was grabbed by the rude customer, who pulled her back into the seat.

Once she was back in her seat Daichi's hands worked their way over her body. She was really starting to get angry now. This was the exact reason she hated these types of customers. She could deal with him easily, over 100 non lethal ways and exponentially more in lethal methods. However she could not allow her cover to be ruined, or to ruin the reputation of the Golden Garden. As Kushina was going over what to do she saw Naruko walking by the window and chose to call out to her daughter, "Naruko-chan, can you please go get Zabuza-san and let him know that there is a nasty Weed (the Garden's term for undesirable patrons) in the back room?" Naruko looked over at Kushina and nodded after giving an angry look at the man trying to touch her mother.

"Hai kaa-san. Do you need anything else?" Naruko was already turning back around, about to run to the front while she asked, waiting for any other requests. She was in a new outfit that Kushina had bought her since they started living in Koriyo. It was a pair of shorts as well as a slightly roomie sleeveless shirt, both made of a black material meant to wick away body sweat. Naruko had begged for it so she could try and convince Zabuza to train her. Naruko had been asking the tall man daily since the first time she saw him kick out a group of 6 Weeds. They had happened to be a bunch of thugs who were causing trouble at a few of the other brothels for some guy named Gato.

"No, Naruko dear, just that." Kushina smiled happily as Naruko nodded and ran off. She continued to try and push Daichi's hands away gently while she waited for Zabuza. She was getting annoyed now, she could even feel some of the Kyuubi's chakra leaking into her system, not much but enough to cause her hair to start standing up. She inhaled deeply and closed her eyes, keeping herself as relaxed as possible. That was when Daichi broke the last straw, his finger rubbing her crotch through her skirt. Her eyes snapped open as she was about to back hand the Weed, just as Zabuza appeared behind him and lifted Daichi out of his seat and threw him out of the room. He then followed after the prone civilian, letting out a burst of focused Killing Intent.

"Get out of here you worm." At the low growling voice Daichi stood up and ran away. Zabuza then turned back into the room and cleaned up whatever mess he had made; a flipped table, three dropped sake bottles, and two smashed sake saucers. "Are you okay Hitomi-san?" he asked as gently as he could, his voice still holding his natural growl. Kushina smiled at him and knelt down to help him pick up the bits of smashed saucers. She took a napkin from one of the undisturbed tables and put the pieces on it, as well as taking the pieces from Zabuza.

"Yes, I am Zabuza-san. Thank you for always being here for us." Kushina replied, her eyes closed and voice gentle as she smiled. She meant it too. Originally she had been hesitant to trust him at all. However in her month of working in the Garden she saw how he was never malicious in his treatment of Weeds. He only did what he had to, and that may have been just how he worked as a ninja, but it had inspired her to get to know him better. So in that month she would often sit with him in the main room, both enjoying a single drink each for a couple of hours after the bar had closed, and talked. However she had never expected something to happen, she had honestly developed feelings for him.

She had still not told him the entire truth of her and Naruko's life, or even their real names but she had always focused on him. It was only about three nights ago that she realized her feelings. The thought of it had made her laugh at a very awkward time, Zabuza had been telling her about why he was now a missing ninja, or nuke-nin. She immediately apologized and told Zabuza that she had just realized something that had seemed impossible to her. At his less than polite prodding she admitted her growing feelings for him and even went as far as to kiss him. After she pulled away she blushed and apologized for her bold behavior this time before excusing herself to her and Naruko's room for the rest of the night. As she got up to leave, she heard the Demon of the Bloody Mist mumble something and immediately asked what he said.

He was looking right into her eyes as he admitted to having feelings of his own for her. "I like you too Hitomi. I can't really say when I noticed it but this feeling won't leave me alone. Every day when you get in for work in the afternoon I want to tell you that I hate the thought of you working here, throwing away your life in a fucking brothel. The only things that keeping me from breaking and trying to talk you into leaving here is that I know I will miss you, and that you are doing this for your daughter. Other than having been able to meet you, the best thing about you being here is that you aren't one of Orchid Ayame's damned Roses." He knew enough of her story to know that she was a widow, the widow of a ninja in fact, and that she was still trying to heal from that loss. That was why he had done his best to never let on about his feelings for her. That is why he never tried to force his emotions onto her, he didn't want to crush her with yet another burden. He stood up from his seat and looked her in the eyes , faces only inches apart before he leaned in and gave her a kiss of his own.

They both took a step away, collecting their breath after the kiss. Kushina had tears in her eyes as she took his hand in hers and thanked him. In his confession he had given her a new freedom she didn't know she had wanted. She wanted her feeling to be mirrored by another the same way they had been when Minato was alive. Even after those three years of traveling, the last words that Minato's clone spoke to her had stayed in her heart, Minato had wanted her to find love again, and she was sure she was working her way to exactly that.

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Next chapter will probably take some more time. I want to use that one to explore Naruko's time at the Garden while expanding on Kushina and Zabuza's relationship in the background. I honestly couldn't help myself from writing this up. I have a few chapters like that in mind where I know what I want to do in them and I just can't help but want to get them on here.

Till next chapter folks, keep yourselves happy and healthy.


	3. Chapter 3

Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

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Prologue 3: Naruko

The sun shone through the window into Naruko's sleeping face. It was a brand new day but Naruko adjusted her count. 11 months, 28 days, and 7 hours. That meant that in 1 day and 17 hours she would be turning 4 years old. Naruko was squirming in anticipation, she just knew that Zabuza wouldn't say no to training her on her birthday. She stretched out as far as her growing body could before jumping to her feet, slamming into the wood floor as she got caught in her blankets. "Owowow, why does that keep happening?" This was the third time this week that Naruko woke up and ended up on her face.

She got dressed in her more relaxed clothes; a skin tight, burnt orange shirt with 3/4 length black sleeves, and large pocketed black shorts that went to her knees. Once she was dressed she brushed her hair back and left the room that she and Kushina shared. The room was only good for sleeping so the Uzumaki women tended to use the kitchen in the bar room for their meals. One of the benefits of living here was that their food was free. Naruko loved the food here, especially when the cook she called Bobo-kun was in. She called him Bobo-kun because he was always getting hurt in comical ways, like a clown. Bobo-kun was her favorite cook because he made some of the best ramen she had ever eaten, even her mother's ramen was nowhere near as good.

Sadly it wasn't Bobo-kun's day to work, so Naruko wasn't going to be able to have his ramen. Instead Naruko found her mother in the kitchen making breakfast for both of them. Kushina was currently at the flat grill, pouring batter from a large bowl into six puddles on the grill's surface. "Ohayo Kaa-san!" Naruko shouted as she leaned over the bar top looking into the kitchen, big smile on her face the second she saw the streaks of gently split blueberries in the batter, "Mmmmmm, blueberry pancakes." She loved it when Kushina would make pancakes, the Uzumaki ladies had learned how to make them when they stayed in a village in the Land of Iron. Naruko didn't like that village very much, her mom was always asking her to leave the small house they had been staying in whenever the owner came to collect her payment.

They only stayed in that village for a week and two days, but during that time Kushina seemed to always be sad. It got worse on the days that the guy who owned the shack came by. Kushina tried to keep out of the house, the two Uzumakis usually just would sit, and play in the case of Naruko, by the river that ran through the eastern side of the village.

Naruko quickly shook her head, clearing away the memories of that village right as Zabuza came up behind her and spun her stool at the bar around before he took the seat to her right. "Morning brat," had become his usual greeting for her right before looking up at Kushina, "Morning Hitomi." Kushina looked over, seeing Naruko still spinning, and smiling at them both.

"Would you like to join us for breakfast Zabuza-san?" Kushina placed a glass of milk in front of Naruko as she stuck her arms out and grabbed the bar, stopping her spinning stool. "Kaa-san, Moo-kun is being mean to me again," Naruko whined with a pout on her face. Her hair had been blown around wildly as she spun. Zabuza looked over at her and laughed.

Naruko glared at the nuke-nin, pout still on her face, but stopped when she heard Kushina's giggle as well. She looked over and sighed. At least her mom seemed happier than she used to, and Naruko knew that Zabuza was part of the reason. She may have been 3 but Naruko could still tell that her mom had been spending more time with the swordsman. There was even one night where Kushina didn't come back to their room. When Naruko asked one of the other LIllies in the Garden if she had seen Kushina. The Lily smiled and told her that a tipsy "Hitomi" had helped get, a much drunker, Zabuza to his room. Naruko thanked the older woman and went off towards Zabuza's room where she knocked on the door and was greeted by a Kushina in slightly rumpled clothing.

 **Time Skip (1 day and 17 hours)**

Naruko woke up to a windy and slightly overcast October day. She got up slowly, extracting herself from the bundle of blankets. Once on her feet, Naruko stretched out, arms over her head and leaning to the right. After she felt less stiff she worked her way to the small bathroom, a generous term for the small sink in the tiny closet of their room. She washed her face in the small sink in her and Kushina's room and brushed her hair back, keeping it loose except for a headband to keep her bangs out of her eyes.

While Naruko was busy getting ready for the day Kushina slid the door open just enough to peek into the room. Playfully using her past ninja experience, Kushina crept into the room and grabbed her daughter in a hug, smiling and laughing as she screamed, "Happy Birthday Naruko-chan!" Her arms wrapped around Naruko and lifted her up off her feet. She began to spin around, Naruko's feet pulled out from her by the spin. Kushina stopped spinning and began kissing Naruko on the face. She could feel the small blonde squirm, trying to get away.

'Damn it. Mom's too strong from all her training.' Naruko tried to fight her way out of Kushina's embrace, turning her head at the sudden onslaught of birthday kisses. "Please let go Kaa-san. I can't breathe." Naruko begged as she continued her useless struggle. Her legs kicking playfully as she started laughing. The kisses covering her whole face now. Suddenly Naruko stopped and shrieked. "Wait...DID YOU SAY BIRTHDAY KAA-SAN!?"

The sudden yelling caused Kushina to drop Naruko and cover her ears gently. "Of course. Today is October 10th. I thought you have been counting the days for this." Kushina looked at Naruko before the little girl grabbed a towel from over their sink and ran towards the Garden's baths. Kushina just shrugged off the sudden reaction before smiling mischievously and lifting a false section of floor to pull out Naruko's gifts. She may not have been able to give her precious Naruko stable home for 4 years, but Kushina would always do what she could to make her happy.

When Naruko got back into their room she was wrapped up in an oversized towel, still dripping from her quick bath. She walked up to Kushina and hugged her. Naruko then dried off and went to her side of the closet to get dressed. When she came back over to Kushina she was in a knee length, light orange dress with her hair still hanging loose. Kushina calls her over to the mirror and brushes her hair before braiding it back and rolling the braid into a bun. Once Kushina was done she gave Naruko two boxes, one was just a flat box in wrapping paper while the other was bigger and sounded like it had several things in it. Naruko happily chose the smaller gift first. Inside was a beautiful silk yukata, it was a summery shade of green with orange details at the ends of the sleeves and around the collar. "Now that is only for festivals Naruko, that means you can't just wear it every day," Kushina explained before getting hugged tightly by the excited 4 year old.

Naruko moved her second present beside her pillow. This was nothing new, Naruko had done it every year since she was 2. She liked to have something else to open at the end of the day. Kushina took her daughter's hand and lead her to the main room of the Garden and sat her at the bar before going to make breakfast. After eating Naruko went to find Zabuza. "He is going to agree to teach me today. It's my birthday so he has to," she said to empty air as she exited the Garden to see if the swordsman was up front. "It was still too early for him to be there, maybe around the back?" She walks around to the back and finds the man asleep under a tree. Naruko slowly tip toes her way towards him hoping to scare him.

Right as she is about to touch the sleeping Zabuza he turns to water before her eyes. At this sight Naruko begins to freak out, frozen in place. "Lesson one brat: Always be ready." A hand falls on Naruko's shoulder as the growling voice comes from behind her and makes her jump. "Lesson two: Stay calm."

After collecting her breath Naruko looks up at Zabuza with a scowl on her young face. "Meanie. How did you do that anyway?" As she is asking her question she waves an arm at the tree where the water clone had been. "I mean one second you were there, then you were a puddle."

Zabuza sighs as he shakes his head. "For a ninja's kid, you know too little about what can be done with chakra." Running a hand through his hair, Zabuza looks up to the tree branches. "I've never been good at explaining this stuff, so listen good brat." The Kiri swordsman then goes on to explain chakra as much as he can, including how to build up a person's reserves and how to use it.

Naruko sits in front of the seasoned ninja and nods as she listens to the explanation. When Zabuza is finished his lesson she jumps to her feet, jumping around with excitement as she begs him, "Please Zabuza-san, can you teach me how to do that? I want to walk on water, and breath fire, and do all that other cool stuff!"

The response she gets is immediate and heart crushing. "No." Zabuza looks down at her, a serious expression on his face with his arms crossed over his chest. As Naruko's eyes begin to tear up she starts bawling about it being her birthday, he hits her on the back of the head, just enough to make her stop. "If you had let me finish, I was going to tell you 'No. You need to learn the basics before you can do any of that.'"

With hope and excitement back in her eyes she tackles his leg in a big hug. "Does that mean you will teach me?" Naruko looks up at him, having forgotten her prior disappointment entirely. At his nod she squeezes tighter on his leg while squealing happily.

"I will teach you. However, before we do anything with chakra I am going to run you into the ground for 3 months." The blonde girl before Zabuza gulps at this statement. "That means laps, weights, and forms drills. After that you will have 1 month of stealth practice on top of the other training. Once I am satisfied with the results, and only then, we will work on chakra." With his arms back across his chest, he gives Naruko a challenging look that dares her to refuse.

The 4 year old blonde lets go of his leg and gives Zabuza her best 'bring it on' face she can and agrees. "Good. We aren't going to start today. Take the day and enjoy your birthday. Hitomi said she wanted you to be able to move." After she sticks her tongue out at him playfully he shoos her away with a pat to the behind and a gruff "Get going brat."

 **Time skip: 3 months and 2 weeks later**

Naruko had been assigned to use the whole day for stealth practice. She was supposed to sneak in to any room after dark and take something from the room, if the person who used the room was in it, without being caught. Naruko had loved stealth as soon as she started the training, it was the ultimate ninja trait in her young brain. She wanted to prove that she could be allowed to skip the full month before moving on, so she chose Zabuza's room as her practice target. After all, what better way to show how stealthy you are than to out do your teacher.

Zabuza was going to be out of his room most of the day because of his employment by the Garden. This gave Naruko several hours to plan. She started with checking out his room, look for something that he might notice being missing come morning. Naruko chose one of the few scrolls her teacher possessed, one that taught the basics of Kubikiribocho kenjutsu. Next she had to figure out how she would get in, none of the rooms had locks but that would be too obvious for her desired effect, the ceilings had removable sections in all the rooms, and the floors where all solid hard wood. This meant that she had to use either the ceiling entry or the door.

After testing both entries for noticeable noise Naruko decided that the door was her best bet. They were well maintained, easier to move in small amounts, and from what she had seen of Zabuza's sleeping habits, his back would be towards the door. Naruko also knew Zabuza's day to day pattern, he would oversee her training from 6 until about 1 o'clock, then he would stand by as security for the Garden while checking on her training randomly through the day, after the bar closed he would sit around and talk with Kushina for a little while. This meant that Naruko had a window of about 5 hours before she would have to report to Zabuza with her success or failure.

9 hours later, at midnight, Naruko worked her way to the bar to see if Zabuza was still there. When she saw that neither her mother or Zabuza were present she returned to the rooms sections of the building and stopped in front of Zabuza's room. Without thinking she opened the door just enough to see into the room and check on the state of her target. Inside the room was Zabuza and Kushina, both naked and having sex. Naruko turned away from the door, her back to the wall as she rethought her plans, as well as gathered her feelings on what she had just seen.

* * *

 **Lemon warning: Do not continue if you are not of legal age or do not want to read this. There will be an end like this warning after the scene.**

* * *

Naruko turned back towards the opening, she was going to let this play out before completing her mission. When Naruko returned her attention to the occupants, Kushina was on top of Zabuza. From Naruko's position she could see every inch of her mother. She was straddling the swordsman and slowly grinding her hips into him. Kushina's breathing was heavy, just shy of moaning, and her appropriately sized chest was heaving from the exertion. Kushina's head was leaned back a bit and her hair was brushing the floor as she worked into her lover slowly.

Despite not having kept up with her ninja training Kushina's body was still toned yet slender. Her mother's nude body could only be called flawless, her slightly pale skin with her slender body gave her an almost fragile appearance, her hips were well shaped going from her smooth legs up to her waist where they curved in gently, the curve of her hips widened again, but only marginally, the further up Naruko's eyes traveled. Naruko had heard Kushina chatting with some of the other girls from the Garden when they were talking about her measurements, Kushina had said she was only about a D-cup. With her build, it was easy to see how some of the other girls had thought she had been lying. Kushina's breasts looked much bigger than that, with their soft full shape and darker pink nipples, hardened by the cool night air. Naruko looked at the spot that her teacher and her mother were connected, noticing that Kushina's pubic hair was trimmed short.

Leaning forward into her partner, Kushina put her hands on his chest as she began to moan softly. "Oh dear Kami." Her hips changing their motion from small grinding circles to roughly bringing herself down on Zabuza's erection, earning her low moans from the usually quite man. At Kushina's change, Zabuza took her by the hips, and started to meet her as she bounced on him. The wet sound of Kushina's womanhood meeting Zabuza could be heard just as easily as their moans. "Zabuza-san, harder. I want to feel more of you." At her request the Kiri ninja took over and changed their positions.

Zabuza now had Kushina on her hand and knees, thrusting his stiff cock into her, with her long hair in his hand, pulling her head back as she moaned. Naruko could not really say she had wondered about Zabuza before but seeing him now had given her a better understanding of the man. His body was almost nothing but muscle. His back looked just as strong as his chest, arms corded, and legs ready to propel the man from one tree to another. Unseen to Naruko was also Zabuza's manhood, which was about 9 inches of circumcised dick. His skin was even paler than Kushina's but that was because his home nation tended to get very little sun. Though she couldn't tell how big Zabuza was, Naruko knew it must have felt good if it made Kushina act like this. All across his body were scars, each one a testament of his past fights. As his thrusts began to get rougher he had to pull out further in order to get the room he needed to push deeper.

As their moaning continued Kushina took Zabuza's free hand and lead it between her legs, guiding it to her sensitive clit. The second she felt pressure from the slightly calloused fingers of the swordsman her moan turned into a yelp of pleasure. Kushina could feel Zabuza's manhood inside it twitch every so often, he wanted to cum and was only just able to hold off. She wanted to feel the rush of relief as well but was still a bit off. "I'm so close Zabuza-san, please just a little more." Her moans grew more desperate as she felt the ministrations to the sensitive bundle of nerves in between Zabuza's fingers. She could feel her climax coming faster with each slight roll across his finger tips.

Naruko watched on in interest as her mother turned into a a squirming and panting slave to her sexual desires. With his balanced use of force and skill Zabuza could feel the walls of Kushina's wet core squeeze him hungrily, trying to milk his cock. "I can't hold on Hitomi. I need to let it go." He leaned in, forcing his way deeper still as he whispered in her ear, "Do you want me to do it inside or out?" Each time Kushina tried to answer he would graze her clit with his finger, making her stop suddenly. Eventually she just took over again, happily straddling the man as she rode him, his back propped up against a wall. "I want it inside me Zabuza-san. Please let it out for me." With this last request she brought her lips to his and kissed him hungrily, both adults fighting for dominance with their tongues, with Kushina giving in when he cupped one of her breasts and played with her hardened nipple.

With this last bit of teasing Kushina was finally driven to her climax. Her tight core squeezing and milking Zabuza as he let his seed out into her accepting womb. The feel of his cum rushing into her caused Kushina to experience a second, weaker, orgasm. With both of them spent, Zabuza lowered himself onto his back again, head on the pillow, as Kushina leaned into him and slowly pulled him out of her with a wet plop.

* * *

 **Lemon Scene is now over.**

* * *

Both adults fell asleep quickly in each others embrace. Naruko watched quietly for about an hour before slipping into the room and claiming her prize. During that hour of waiting Naruko let her thoughts click into place. 'Mom seemed to like that so I guess it is something she wanted. She also seemed to be in charge just as much as Zabuza. I kind of want to know more, maybe I should talk to some of the other Flowers.' With her target scroll in hand she returned to her room to sleep away the rest of the night. Before climbing into bed Naruko made sure her 5 o'clock alarm was set and her clothes were ready for her in the morning. After changing into her pajamas, an over sized shirt with a pair of shorts under that, Naruko laid down and curled up with her blankets happily.

At 5 o'clock Naruko woke up and got ready for her day. She started by washing her face and brushing her hair quickly. Once she was done with that she got dressed in her usual training outfit, the same one her mom had bought for her shortly after they moved into the Golden Garden. After she was dressed she tied her hair back and tucked the scroll into one of her pockets. Standing up, finally happy with her work, Naruko left the room to get breakfast. At the bar, in their usual seats, were Kushina and Zabuza. Both had a cup of tea in front of them and where waiting for the person in the kitchen to bring out their food. Naruko's mood soared when she saw it was Bobo-kun today. She greeted him and asked if she could have some eggs and toast.

During their meal, the three barely talked, mostly just Naruko asking them about their day before and getting simple answers. Once they were all finished Zabuza turned to his student and asked, "So, were you able to finish your assignment?" Naruko nodded and handed the scroll to him, proudly stating what it was, what information was contained within, and whose room it was taken from. At this string of news, Zabuza opened the scroll to check its authenticity, while Kushina paled a bit, realizing that Naruko might have seen more than she should have.

* * *

 **A/N:** Thank you for reading. I wanted to keep this chapter from getting too long but I wanted to at least get a taste of what Naruko was going to do for training. Next chapter will be the end of the Prologues and will also be Naruko centered, from when she unlocks her chakra to her first day in the academy, and even some other changes.


	4. Chapter 4

Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

A/N: I just want to say thank you to recent reviews who brought up some things I could do to add to my previous chapter and lemon scene. I was actually going to start this one with the more awkward conversation between the three.

As for things like Kushina and Zabuza going more than one round, I do agree that they probably would for the reason of them both being ninja. I disagree with one reason being they work in/for a brothel, Zabuza is pretty much security and Kushina is one of the Garden's Lillies as well as a Daffodil, not a Rose. Thinking about that scene now, I do agree that having them go again would have made the morning a bit more awkward, especially after Naruko hands over the scroll if they had been busy all night.

* * *

Prologue 4: Naruko

Zabuza looked up from the scroll in his hands. "When did you take this from my room?" He questioned the blonde girl slightly impressed that she was able to sneak into his room without being noticed. The swordsman also made a note to find a way to lock the door, at least while he is there with Hitomi. Rolling up the scroll and tucking it into one of his pockets, he continued to look at his young student waiting.

"I don't know what time exactly. It was after midnight when I first got to your room. Then I had to wait for you and Kaa-san to fall asleep after you finished sparring. Oh, that's right! Why were you both sparring naked? And when do I get to learn to fight like that?" Naruko looked up innocently, her deep blue eyes shining in wonder before she noticed the shocked/embarrassed faces of Kushina and Zabuza. "What's wrong? Did I fail my test?" Her face changed from happiness to questioningly sad, actually dipping her head to look at the floor.

Zabuza hurriedly recovered his composure and shook his head. "No, you passed. You actually did better than I could have imagined you would in that situation." He put his hand on her head and ruffled her hair a bit, making her giggle happily at his praise. After letting her lover commend Naruko, it was Kushina's turn to speak up. "Yes, you did very well. Neither of us knew you were even there. Now about what you saw... that wasn't something you can learn until you are older." Hoping that explanation would curb away any more questions she reached her arms around Naruko and took her into one of her big momma bear hugs congratulating her before another question turned her solid as stone.

"Why do I have to be older? It looked like you both had fun. And I should learn everything I can if I want to be a ninja someday." Naruko turned around in Kushina's arms looking at her expectantly. Her mouth set in a small frown and cheeks puffed up a bit. 'Oh Kami no, please don't pout, it's not fair when you do.' was Kushina's thought as she tried to figure out a suitable white lie to tell her before they were interrupted by one of the Garden's ruder Roses, Junko.

"Just tell her the truth. You two were fucking like a pair of bunnies." Junko said before laughing out loud making them all turn to her. Zabuza just taking note that she was there now. Kushina was glaring daggers at the woman, this was already embarrassing enough for her without other Flowers knowing and voicing their opinions. Naruko just looked over, hoping that someone would explain what Junko had just said. The looks made the Rose laugh more before she continued on. "Kid, your mom was having sex with the Garden's, big strong, security chief. Judging by the look on your face, you have no idea what that is." She laughed even harder before going on any further. "Sex is where two people get naked, usually a man and woman but it can be woman and woman or man and man, and use their particular 'equipment' to get the other to cum," Junko explained. " A man's 'equipment' is called many things including penis, cock, dick, meat stick, manhood, and many other fun names. Women have their own special bits as well. Ours have a few names too, vagina, pussy, cunt, cunnie for younger girls by some, love tunnel, baby cannon. Honestly most of them aren't as fun to say as what men have." She had a grin on her face as she sat back in one of the club's plush chairs. "And just let me say it now, sex is not only the most fun a person can have, it is also an exchange of power."

With all this new information Naruko was left confused and overly embarrassed. She knew about men and women having different anatomy, that was something Kushina had taught her when she was being potty trained. All this new stuff was too much for her to take in at once. Once her head had stopped spinning and she knew what her next question was going to be she looked up at Junko, about to ask how and why adults had sex, Kushina approached her fellow Flower and lead her from the room whispering threats to the Rose if she ever talked to Naruko about sex again. When her mother returned Naruko looked at her and asked, "Why did you make Junko leave? She was just trying to help."

"Naruko, Junko has her own opinion on these matters. I don't agree with them, and I want you to be older before you make those kinds of choices," Kushina explained. When Naruko nodded her head, she was wrapped up in another hug which she returned happily. "Tonight we can talk about what Junko said to make it more appropriate." Kushina pulled away from Naruko and smiled, with her eyes closed, and kissed her forehead. "Now go outside with Zabuza-san for your lessons." She turned Naruko towards the door and patted her rear end, pushing her forward.

"Okay Kaa-san. I will see you later." Stepping out from the Garden, Naruko looked around everywhere she could. Zabuza had made a habit of attacking her randomly, he said it was to keep her on her toes. Once she knew the coast was clear she proceeded around the building and found her teacher under the same tree he had left a sleeping clone on her birthday. "Zabuza-san, I was wondering something." At her call the Swordsman looked up and gave her a silent 'go ahead'. "I was hoping that maybe we could skip the rest of stealth training and start working with chakra." She was looking down, her eyes closed, as she hoped for his okay.

Sighing Zabuza ran a hand through his hair thinking it over. "Okay. However, we are only going to do chakra one day a week until the end of the month. After that we will work it in every day like the rest of your training and lessons." Naruko's head shot up, a smile on her face as she stared at her teacher. "You earned this with how well you did on my test. Before we begin actually trying, I want to teach you about chakra itself." He then went on to explain that chakra was the combination of energies created through mental and physical training, which is why he worked her so hard during training. "Now that you know what chakra is, I want you to try and unlock yours. Using the tiger hand sign," He then demonstrated the hand sign for her, "you try and focus your chakra into your center, and then you push it outwards." With the end of his explanation came a wave of energy that was easy to feel. "Now, I want you to try this for an hour before we take a break. It may not seem hard but it can tire out most inexperienced people who attempt it.

Naruko put her hands in the tiger sign and closed her eyes as she tried to focus her energies. She evened out her breathing and shut out all the noises around her. Deep in her stomach Naruko could feel what she could only call a storm raging inside her. It felt like it wanted to be set free, allowed to crash into whatever tried to hold it back. Slowly, Naruko exhaled and tried to push the energy away. It was starting to feel more like a beast than a storm, a beast with no desire to be controlled. Suddenly she was pulled from her thoughts as Zabuza woke her up. "That's an hour. We will try again after you have something to drink and rest a bit." At her attempt to shrug him off and deny the need for rest, he gripped tighter and looked her in the eyes. "That is an order brat. You are shaking and need the rest."

Naruko gave in and decided to ask him if it should feel like it did. "Um, Zabuza-san what does it feel like when you push out the chakra? You never really told me what it was supposed to be like. When I tried it felt like a storm gathering when I collected it, then it felt like a wild animal trapped in a corner when I wanted to release it." She was looking at the water bottle in her hand, watching for shaking in her hands. Her teacher's response came after a short internal analysis.

"That I can speak of from my own experience, no. Releasing your chakra does feel difficult at first but it shouldn't feel like a beast with its own mind. The part about a raging storm in your stomach is common in people with large amounts of chakra, but usually it was more with people from a certain lost clan." He looked over at her and put a hand on her head, just trying to express a willingness to help her, even if just by listening to her. "Hitomi once told me she had a somewhat similar feeling when she tried to use her chakra. Maybe she can help you with that tonight." He held out a hand, giving her a bit of help getting up. "For now, we still need to run through your forms and your laps."

Naruko nodded before letting Zabuza hoist her to her feet. "I want to try once more first," Naruko insisted, getting ready for her second attempt. As soon as she started she could feel the storm in her gut, she let herself get used to the storm, working her way to its eye. From there Naruko began to push on it, forcing it to the surface so she could let it all out. Grunting a bit as she continued, "It still feels like it is fighting me back." With a deep breath she pushed harder, feeling it give but not break to her will. Her chakra was just as resilient as she was.

Suddenly it snapped back, swallowing her attempts. When she opened her eyes she was on her back. Zabuza was standing over looking down, reaching out and calling to her. When she responded he exhaled visibly, counting his blessings. He did not want an angry Hitomi on his case. "Do you want me to carry you inside?" His voice was gentle as he questioned the blonde. She shook her head and looked right into his eyes. Carefully sitting herself up she thought for a second and took up the tiger hand sign one last time for the day.

"I will do this. Namikaze Naruko does not back down!" She exclaimed forgetting to use her fake last name. She instantly found her way to the center of her storm and instead of fighting it, let it sink into her more. The effort became less and her breathing became easier compared to the last two tries. This time instead of trying to push it out at all she just opened her eyes and found herself alone. She was sitting, with her back to a blackboard and desks in front of her. 'Why am I in a school class room?' She looked around but felt too weightless for this to be real. 'Maybe this is a genjutsu. But who could have cast it Zabuza-san hates them.'

Looking around the room more she noticed someone at one of the desks. It was a girl in a white sundress and she was sitting on the desk, her legs kicking slowly. Taking a step closer, Naruko noted her steps made no sound on the hard floor. Even without her steps making a sound the other girl looked up, making Naruko gasp. It was her, but it also wasn't. This version of her had a head of short hair, the color was a mix of her own hair and her mother's, like a setting sun in the Land of Fire. The girl's eyes were the same shade of blue as her own, but the pupils were more oblong vertically almost like an animal's but not as stretched. The most concerning issue was that the girl had fox ears on her head and a tail, both matching her hair color. "Who are you and why do you look like me?" Naruko's voice was soft with confusion and worry.

The other girl tilted her head and shrugged. "I don't have a name. I know what I am, but not who. As to why I look like you, that is part of what I am." Her voice was also just like Naruko's. She hoped off of the desk and circled the girl once. "I am a fragment of the Kyuubi that Kaa-san carries. Well to be exact, I am a fragment of his chakra that has mixed with yours." She turned around on one foot, her dress billowing up gently. "And this is my 'room'. It was made from your ideas on what the Academy in Konoha is like." The nameless girl sat on her desk again looking at Naruko, waiting.

"No name? That can't be. Everyone has a name." Naruko looked at the 'fragment', her face scrunched up in thought. She sat down, a bit harder than she had wanted to, again making no noise and with no feeling to her. 'So this isn't a genjutsu. It is a part of my mind then?' "Do you know the Kyuubi's name? Maybe its name is yours too." The other girl shook her head slowly, she was at a loss as what she could be named. "Wait, you said Kaa-san like she was your mom too."

Naruko's phantom smiled at her and nodded. "Yes. I know what you know, so to me she is my Kaa-san too." She then stood up on her desk and paced along the top of it. "Also, I don't want you to use your chakra. It is scary for me, I don't know what might happen in here." She hoped off the desk and approached her counterpart. "Is that okay?" In a 'too proud for this crap' attitude Naruko reached out and slapped the other girl, not hard but enough to get her attention.

"Not using chakra will keep me from my dream. If you know what I do, then you would not ask me that. You should help me. I won't make you help me but if you keep trying to fight me over it like you have, I will find a way to take charge." With her cheeks puffed up and her arms across her chest Naruko stared the other girl in the eyes, daring her to challenge her. Naruko hadn't actually expected her opposite to challenge her and was surprised when she was backed into a corner of the room. The other girl was angry, that was obvious.

"I don't have any control over your chakra dummy. I am just a fragment of a monster, trapped in a little girl by myself." The phantom's eyes held tears and rage. She just wanted to be her own self. It was tough being a tiny presence in another person's mind. She had to watch the girl's entire life not being able to grow on her own. "Why should I help you anyways? You just want to go and be a ninja. Me, I want to stay here at the Golden Garden where we are safe." The phantom's purpose was to be the counter point in Naruko's thoughts, like a conscience, but about everything. She was the one who had to hold the less starry eyed beliefs of the girl.

Sighing at this phantom in front of her Naruko reached out and hugged her now. "You should help me because if my Kaa-san is your Kaa-san too, then you are my sister. Maybe you are more of just a part of me but you have your own desires and thoughts like a real person." Naruko let go of the other girl when she could tell she had calmed down. "I'm sorry if I said anything that was mean. This is just new to me." She looked at her fragment again, staring into the slightly off mirror image had made her realize that she had been here for a while now. "Umm, Yoko-chan, do you know how I can get out of here? It must be getting a bit late outside and I don't want to scare Kaa-san."

"Yoko-chan? If you mean me then I do, but outside it has only been a minute or two. Your body is still trying to release it's chakra." Naruko blinked at this information and nodded. 'Yoko' took a step back from her real world self and smiled as she thought about the name. It was a nice one but she wanted to know what Kanji to use for it. Suddenly embarrassed by what she had done early, forcing Naruko into the corner and being mean, she bowed and began to apologize. "I am sorry about my earlier behavior...onee-chan." Thinking it over there was one way 'Yoko' could make up for it, but she would use that to get her name's kanji from Naruko. "I think I know why you were having trouble with your chakra. I can tell you, but I want to know how to write my name." Being a facet of Naruko's personality left her with the same type of attitude as her 'sister', meaning she was too proud to just let things go or seem like she was being nice for no reason.

"Oh, that is easy." Taking a piece of chalk from the board Naruko wrote out the figures as big as she could. Soon the kanji '洋子' was on the board. "I used this one because even though you have always been with me Kaa-san would see you as a "foreign child." Naruko explained it simply and with pride, her eyes closed and her nose in the air like she was a genius, come to give a lesson to a preschooler. "Now, why do you think my chakra was being funny?" She put the chalk down and patted her hands together, cleaning off any dust.

"You were not actually in sync with yourself. Do you remember what you said before your third try? 'Namikaze Naruko does not back down!' The reason you came here was because you let yourself admit that you are not 'Kobayashi' Naruko. Even if it was just a fake name, it is something that kept you off balance. You are proud to be our Otou-san's daughter." Yoko said, returning the superior attitude she had just received, her hands were on her hips as she said it, nose in the air and chest puffed out.

Nodding her head Naruko could understand where Yoko was coming from. Zabuza had said that a person could have problems with their chakra for too many reasons to count but included emotional distress, intoxication, poisoning, and even just being angry. Naruko focused back to Yoko again and hugged her. "Thank you Yoko-onee-chan. I think I am ready to go back now." Yoko returned the hug and turned Naruko to the room's door.

"Just go through that door and you will be back in reality Naruko-onee-chan." Yoko said before returning to the perch of her favorite desk. "When you get back, don't fight your chakra, let it sink in more. You will get it, I know you can...And make sure you tell Kaa-san about this. She deserves to know." With that Yoko began to happily hum to herself, her feet kicking the air and her tail swishing back and forth slowly. Though she wasn't going to say it to Naruko, this was the happiest Yoko could say she had felt.

Naruko nodded and walked through the door, instantly snapping back to reality she felt her chakra struggle against her will and pulled back, letting her chakra become a part of her as it continued to gather. Once she felt she was as connected to it as she could be, Naruko exhaled slowly while easing her chakra out. The effect was like Zabuza's demonstration, a sudden wave of energy rushed from the girl and even had Zabuza stunned at how much he could feel it. It could have easily been at Jonin levels as far as quantity was to be considered. 'I guess I should ask Hitomi about that when I get the chance. As well as why Naruko used the name Namikaze just now.' Zabuza felt Naruko's tension and chakra subside, drawing his attention back to his student wary of her passing out. When she stayed on her feet Zabuza went over and patted her head. "Good work brat. We can take the rest of the day to ease you into releasing your chakra until there is no effort in it for you." Naruko nodded as she hugged her teacher's leg.

"What happened to doing laps and forms drills?" She asked innocently, her arms still around the swordsman's leg. To her it was a fair question as Zabuza had never backed down from things like making her run laps. She was ecstatic to not have to do them, she was sure her legs would pop like over filled balloon animals if she tried.

"Well I thought you weren't going to get it today after the first attempt so I had made that my plan." His explanation held no sympathy for her troubled attempts or her possibly hurt feelings at his lack of confidence. Looking back down at Naruko, Zabuza picked her up with one hand by her shirt collar and set her back down. "I want you to gather and release your chakra 10 more times before I set you free for the day." He took a couple steps back, giving her room to help her focus.

Her following tries had taken a bit longer than Zabuza had thought they would so he went back to his post at the front door, after her 5th, keeping his senses aware for the sudden spike in chakra coming from her direction behind the Golden Garden. The swordsman felt the 10th wave around 5 o'clock and went behind the building to find her panting and exhausted. "Good, the tired state you are currently feeling is called chakra exhaustion. It happens when a ninja uses up their chakra reserves. Honestly I thought you would hit this point on your 4th." Zabuza then picked up his blonde student and carried her inside on his back, setting her down at the bar. "Get something filling and salty. That will help a bit," he explained as he went to find Hitomi.

Jump to the next day

Naruko woke up at 5 like every day but regretted it immediately. Her body ached and while her bowl of ramen had helped with the chakra exhaustion it didn't stop her head from hurting. The only day she had felt this bad was her first day with Zabuza as her teacher. On that day she had been run so far into the ground she felt like she could have been buried in the hole.

Thinking back to yesterday the last thing she remembered was eating her dinner and being carried to her and Kushina's room by her mother. As she was carried she could hear Kushina and Zabuza talking. Zabuza had been asking her about Naruko using her Namikaze name during training. Kushina had stopped and invited the swordsman into the mother/daughter room. At this point Naruko had passed out in her mother's arms.

Naruko looked around the small room, looking for either adult. Besides her, and all the Uzumaki duo's possessions, the room was empty. Naruko got to her feet, carefully climbing out of the bundled blankets. Stretching out languidly, she tested just how much she was hurting. After stretching for about ten minutes she started getting ready the same as always, wash the face, get dressed, and brushing her hair.

She walked through the halls of the Golden Garden, her path straight to the kitchen clear in the rumble of her stomach. When she rounded the corner into the main room she found her mother passed out on one of the lounging couches. Zabuza was sitting upside down on one of the chairs, left leg over the back with his right leg over the right arm of the chair.

Naruko gently woke the adults. Kushina had gotten very little sleep last night, she had been up with Zabuza explaining everything she could. Zabuza was by far the worst off, he was heavily hung over having drunk 4 bottles of sake by himself, and with his awkward sleeping position he suffered from highly achy joints. "Hn. Brat, I'm giving you the day off. I am in no mood for anything loud or exhausting." Naruko cheered before being silenced by the swordsman's stare.

Once both adults were awake, they caught Naruko up on what happened after her lessons, although it was more of Kushina who was explaining as Zabuza was still angry about being lied to for the past few months. When Zabuza had agreed to come in and sit down Kushina had begun to tell him the truth, all of it. Everything was laid out for him, from 'Kobayashi Hitomi' being a fake name to Kushina being Uzumaki Kushina widowed wife of the 4th Hokage. The level of deception had made him angry, and so, Zabuza went to the bar and began to drink while Kushina continued her story. She even told him about the times she had to do less than appropriate things in order to keep a roof over her and Naruko's heads, to which the swordsman asked for what villages and the names of the men so he could get rid of them.

After telling Naruko about Zabuza knowing everything, it was Naruko's turn to tell them about Yoko. "Kaa-san, do you know that the Kyuubi is still sealed tight?" She wanted to find out what she could about the demon fox's chakra before she brought up Yoko. Kushina only gave her daughter a nod, she knew it was still there because she could feel the tailed beast. When asked why she wanted to know Naruko let the story out. "Yesterday, when I was trying to unlock my chakra, I met a fragment of the Kyuubi's chakra that was mixed with mine." This immediately brought new worry to Kushina, which Naruko tried to relieve. "The fragment wasn't the Kyuubi though. It was its own self, it was a part of me that was different. It looked just like me but with ears and one tail. Her hair was shorter and was the color of a sunset. And she didn't feel like she was made of anger and hate either, she was just scared. She didn't even have a name at first, but when she told me that, to her, you were her Kaa-san too I knew she wasn't bad so I gave her a name." Naruko had rushed to get all of that out, using only one breath to do it.

"What name did you give her?" With Kushina's reluctant reply Naruko looked at her a bit shy to admit it now, and chose to whisper it in her mother's ear. Kushina nodded, accepting the name. "That is a good name for her." She wasn't going to trust this fragment of the Kyuubi as easily as Naruko had, but she would give Yoko a chance when she could. The only way Kushina could think of doing that though would be with the help of a Yamanaka clan member, all of which where back in Konoha.

 **Time skip: Next October 10th**

For the past eight and a half months Naruko trained every day with Zabuza. There was a bit of distance between her and the Swordsman after her mother had revealed their lies to him. Kushina had noticed the Mist Ninja's slight withdrawal from both of the Uzumaki ladies, she was hurt by this but understood his reasons. The awkwardness between the three eased after a month mostly thanks to Kushina, who one night while slightly intoxicated had chosen to go to his room chew him out. The interaction quickly turned from a verbal confrontation to a long night of physical intimacy between the two. The next day Kushina had asked for the day off due to a hang over and spent her time with her daughter.

Today was Naruko's 5th birthday. When she had gotten to her and Zabuza's training area the man had told her that lessons would become one, day long lesson a week, instead of shorter ones every day. This was to give her the time she would need to learn from the Flowers in the Garden. Since she was 5 she had to become a Poppy so she had to learn to play an instrument. Naruko had decided to learn the shamisen ( traditional 3 string Japanese guitar, played with a plectrum).

The upside to her lessons being one day a week was that she got move on to learning jutsu, of course Zabuza only knew Suiton jutsu. Because she was excellent at stealth, the first technique he taught her was the Kirigakure Jutsu. This gave her the perfect cover for any sneaking she needed to do. After she was capable of using it to his satisfaction he then taught her how to counter skills like his own Silent Killing. She was going to start learning her second and third jutsu today before she had to go to her Poppy lessons. The new techniques where going to be Suiton: Teppodama and Suiton: Suidan no Jutsu. Both required the user to gather chakra and turn it into water before firing it from their mouth, Teppodama were balls of water while Suidan is high powered streams of water. Zabuza wanted her to learn these due to her naturally high chakra reserves, which should make it easier for her to use them in any environment.

Both techniques were easy to use as they needed very few hand signs. Teppodama only needed the user to make the Tiger hand sign. Suidan needed a few more than that, Tiger-Ox-Tiger-Rat. Naruko was told to run through several tries with each. Her Teppodama was powerful, but until her chakra control improved she could only get out one shot with each use. Using Suidan was easier, Naruko just had to gather a lot of chakra to get a lot of force behind the blast of water. Lessons ended after Naruko could use both jutsu to dispel one of Zabuza's Mizu Bunshin.

After changing out of her training clothes Naruko went to the main room to meet with Orchid Ayame. Ayame was going to go over everything Naruko would need to learn, from how she would have to dress to what songs the blonde would learn to play. Naruko was also going to be responsible for helping her fellow Poppies get ready with their clothes, make up, and hair. Instrument maintenance was solely on the person who played it, that meant that Naruko would only have to keep her shamisen working and no one but Naruko could take of it. If the blonde's instrument was broken, she wouldn't be working, and would not be earning any money. Naruko didn't need money, but she did want it so her mother didn't have to buy everything for her.

Ayame then told her Garden's newest Poppy that sometimes, while very rare, some Poppies had to play for the Roses and their customers. The Poppy assigned to playing for a Rose would be behind a screen to give privacy to the customers. She then told the young girl that as the youngest Poppy, she would not have to do it for another few years. In fact Naruko would most likely not be performing for any customers until she could play her shamisen to the satisfaction of Orchid Ayame.

 **Time skip: 5 months**

All of Naruko's lessons had been going great over the past few months. She was still trying to get used to her shamisen, it was a bit tough for her to remember all the songs, she still had to memorize five more of her fifteen songs. Her lessons with Zabuza were going a bit easier though. Kushina had helped her with chakra control so she could now use her Teppodama to make six consecutive shots. Each of her Teppodama's shots were strong enough to dispel a Mizu Bunshin. As for Naruko's use of the Suidan jutsu, she could easily hit any target Zabuza asked her to with enough force to tear it apart.

When it came to her shamisen, Naruko was trying her hardest and getting better, but she had to learn all the songs played at the Garden as she was the only Poppy who played the 3 stringed instrument. The only other one had turned 15 and chose to become one of the other Flowers, Naruko thought she had seen the girl in Lily make up. She was actually pretty good with the shamisen too, she liked how it could go from a almost whining noise to a deeper solid sound. The hardest part for her was having to sit through the weeks with only one day of lessons with Zabuza to break it up, she was not meant to be sitting on her knees for hours on end.

Her lessons with Zabuza had gotten better though now that they were only once a week. Every week she would get to learn a new skill or jutsu, last week had been the start of water walking, and this week she was going to be learning how to perform Suiton: Daibakufu no Jutsu. Daibakufu no Jutsu was one of the few techniques she had to practice near a significant body of water, as even she had difficulty making enough water for it with just her chakra. The closest large body of water was a small lake, more like a deep pond, an hour away from Koriyo Village. This gave them a secluded area with plenty of trees to use as targets for Naruko's practice with the Daibakufu no Jutsu.

Naruko had learned the hand signs on the first day: Tiger-Ox-Monkey-Rabbit-Ram-Boar-Ox-Horse-Monkey-Tiger-Dog-Tiger-Snake-Tiger-Ox-Monkey-Rabbit-Bird. So far it was the longest sequence she had to remember. Between the hand signs and gathering her chakra it was the first jutsu that she actually had trouble with. Having water already present made the jutsu much easier to handle, all she had to do was gather the water around a central point before letting it surge forward. So far the most she could do was tear up the soft muddy ground near the lake, resulting in a shallow gouge and slightly torn up trees. Zabuza had even given Naruko some praise for that, it was an impressive attempt for a 5 year old (even one with the chakra reserves of a trained Jonin).

Sometimes Kushina would watch, or even help teach, and make a lunch for all three of them. Every time she had a lesson with Zabuza, Naruko would take two hours to connect with Yoko. This use of time was at Kushina's request. During her time in Yoko's room Naruko tried to connect with her "sister" and figure out what she could do. So far all they had found out was that Yoko could see and hear everything Naruko did, but remembered it all easier. As a result of her better memory she had begun to play the shamisen as well, though Yoko's was a mental construct. The three had also figured out that Yoko had her own chakra which is what allowed her to make her room and shamisen.

 **Time skip: 2 months before Naruko's 8th birthday**

'August is probably the second to worst time to live in a stuffy brothel.' Naruko is sitting with her back to a wall, pulling on the front of her kimono while waving a cheap fan in front of her. "Fuck it's hot!" As soon as the words leave her mouth she is assaulted by a wave of anger that she knows belongs to Kushina. "Sorry Kaa-san, it slipped! I didn't mean to say it!" Naruko tries to explain before making a rush to the main room, knowing her mother won't attack her in front of Garden patrons. Naruko quickly slips into the readying room behind the small stage and asks one of the other Poppies for help with her make up. 'If I can just stay on stage long enough, Kaa-san will calm down.'

Over the past two years Naruko had gotten used to her role as a Poppy. Eventually she was even able to get an extra day off to train with Zabuza more. Most of the other Poppies that had been in the Garden before Naruko were older than her by a few years, so they had chosen to take on other roles after they turned 15. Before they all moved on to their new roles there had been 5 Poppies, now there was Naruko and two other experienced girls with a forth still learning before being put on stage. The two experienced girls were both a bit older than Naruko. However they had been Poppies for 4 months less than she had, so Orchid Ayame relied on her to act as the lead Poppy.

Naruko got into her usual position on her thin cushion, followed by the two older girls. Shortly after, a Daffodil stepped out onto the stage and got ready as the curtains were pulled to the sides. At the Daffodil's signal, her left hand behind her back and palm out, Naruko began to play the requested song. Naruko knew every song she needed and could even play a few that had been asked for by customers. With her barely moving fingers doing all the work for her, Naruko could focus on the rest of the music around her. Keeping her face down, as she and the other Poppies were supposed to do when a Daffodil or Lotus was on stage was always annoying for her, she just wanted to keep her neck from getting stiff while she played.

After the first song started Kushina walked into the room and looked right at her daughter, still angry. Naruko continued to play the songs asked of her by the Daffodil for an hour, keeping Kushina in the corner of her eye the entire time. As soon as she was done the young blonde went back behind the stage and got changed, she chose to get out of the Garden and practice her Jutsu. Naruko had not learned a new one in a while, instead running through the ones she did know to get better use of her chakra with each; at this point she knew Teppodama, Suidan, Mizu Bunshin, Daibakufu, Kirigakure, and Suiryudan. She could get 10 Mizu Bunshin at one time as well as get a dragon just smaller than one of Zabuza's from her Suiryudan. When not working on her Jutsu Naruko had been studying kenjutsu, the sword she used was a smaller version of her teacher's infamous weapon that the Kiri ninja had gotten her for her last birthday, as well as a copy of the first two practice scrolls. With her shamisen in hand, Naruko headed back to her and Kushina's room to drop off the 3 string instrument, as well as grab her miniature Kubikiribocho.

On her way to the room she saw an older man approach her mother. The man was wearing a dull green men's kimono under a red haori and wooden sandals. He was approaching Kushina from the front and had seemed to scare the older woman. Naruko not knowing where Zabuza was decided to step in. Walking up behind him quietly, Naruko slipped into his 4 o'clock position and threw her plectrum just before his neck, stopping him. As she was getting ready to throw her spare picking tool the man disarmed her without her even noticing until she was on her backside missing her instrument. Glaring at the man the blonde got back onto her feet and walked over to her mother, this sight told the man everything he needed. This young girl in front of him is the child of his own student, the Yondaime Hokage.

With Naruko's approach Kushina regained her composure. "What do you want Jiraiya?" That was all she chose to say for now. It had been seven years since she had left Konoha, and through all that time there had been a few close calls to Jiraiya finding her. Most of these had occurred since she and Naruko had moved to Koriyo Village. Naruko had taken her shamisen back from the man when he offered it to her, before trying to kick him in the shin. Kushina had put a hand on her daughter's shoulder and pulled her back towards her before she could hit him though.

"Kaa-san, is this the same guy who taught Otou-san?" Her question didn't really need an answer, from all the stories she had heard from her mother the man could not be anyone other than the legendary toad sannin. Everything from his clothes to the way her carried himself helped to support her belief on the issue. Giving her shamisen a few plucks to make sure everything was still working she eyed the man. "Looks like just another pervy customer to me. I bet he is just someone pretending to be him." She wanted to rile him up, make him show her something that proved he was Jiraiya, she was really hoping to see him summon a toad.

"Oi brat! I am not just some everyday pervert. I am Jiraiya the Gallant, world famous super pervert." With Jiraiya's unashamed reply came the usual showmanship. The only response he got though was a blank, bored stare from the young blond. She was hoping this would drive him to anger, angry people often let things slip. "I am a great ninja from Konohagakure. Student of the Sandaime Hokage, and teacher of the Yondaime. And my skills as a ninja are not my only claim to fame. I am also an author of award winning caliber, writer of the Icha-Icha series."

"Student of who? Teacher of the what?" Naruko wasn't fond of insulting the two great men of Konoha, especially her father, but she wanted this old man to slip. "So what do you want with Kaa-san?" She walked over to her first thrown plectrum and picked it up. "I would speak up quick, the guard here at the Golden Garden doesn't like when people mess with the Flowers." Kushina's hand comes down and rests gently on her daughter's head, silencing her gently. "Kaa-san?"

"Naruko, please just let him talk." Naruko crossed her arms and nodded, her cheeks puffed up. Kushina then lead Jiraiya and Naruko to an unused group room, and had Naruko send a Mizu Bunshin to get Zabuza. "As you can see Jiraiya-sama, we have done fine over the past 7 years. We would like to be left out of the politics of Konoha as much as possible."

"Kushina, I did not come looking for you. I have kept my feelers out for any sign of you so we could talk, but Sensei and I both wanted to respect your wish to be left alone." Jiraiya's face had taken on a solemn quality as he took out a scroll and opened it. In the scroll were ten sealing arrays, each one it's own sizable pocket capable of carrying items bigger than Jiraiya. After applying his chakra to the seal closest to the end a small puff of smoke dissipated in the air and revealed two smaller scrolls. One scroll was the same shade of red as Kushina's original hair color, the other was a blue just like Naruko's eyes. "These are for the two of you. The red scroll is a letter from Sensei asking you to return whenever you want. The blue is a letter of recommendation to the Academy in Konoha, there should be enough room for Naruko's name so you can just add it in if you want." Rolling up his scroll, Jiraiya looked at the two Uzumaki females, sadness in his eyes. "I will be in Koriyo for the next week, after that I will be leaving to take a report back to Konoha." In a swirl of leaves that should not have been in the Garden the older man disappeared in his shunshin.

Just as Jiraiya left the door opened and in comes Zabuza, only to be dragged out by a slightly angry Kushina towards the Swordsman's room. Naruko gave them a minute before she followed after them, thinking they would be talking about everything that happened, but when she tried to open the door the blond found that it was stuck closed and had a strong feeling of chakra infusion. The two adults only did this when they wanted to be intimate, something that Kushina preferred when ever she was too angry to think. Shortly after trying the door Naruko heard the confirming moan of her mother taking the Kiri ninja roughly into her womanhood. 'I guess I could read the letter to the academy. It is about me, and Kaa-san always said I could only read a letter that concerned me.' Another loud moaning call came from the closed door, just loud enough for Naruko to hear; "Oh Kami. Keep going Zabuza-san, do it harder." Naruko knocked on the door and quickly called out that they forgot the silence seals his time. They were always forgetting one of them, usually the silence one, and this had lead to a couple awkward occasions where Naruko had walked in on them.

Later that night, after Kushina and Zabuza locking themselves away for three hours, Naruko and her mother were sitting at the bar eating dinner. "Kaa-san, do you really want to stay here at the Garden?" Naruko looked up on her left side, searching Kushina's eyes. The older Uzumaki sighed and shook her head gently, she missed Konoha and the friends she had there. However she knew that if she returned she would lose her lover Zabuza, there was no way a shinobi from another land would be allowed into Konoha as a resident, especially when they were a nuke-nin charged with the attempted assassination of his own Kage. "I want to go back, but I could never leave Zabuza so easily." A tear came to Kushina's eye as she thought about that loss for both of the two adults. Naruko simply nodded, Zabuza was her teacher for the past 4 years almost, he had even kind of become a father to her, so she knew what it was like to not want to leave him behind.

The next day Naruko and Zabuza sat behind the Golden Garden, relaxing after going over her kenjutsu for an hour. "Zabuza-san...how much do you love Kaa-san?" She knew it was a very forward question, and that he wasn't the type to easily give that information up. His growling voice seemed to soften a bit, knowing why she was asking. She wanted to know how he would feel if they went back to Konoha. Naruko would never want to hurt anybody with her actions if she could so the blonde would rather try to find a happiness at the Garden than easily find it out in the ninja world.

"I love her a lot brat. But I don't know how to feel about you two going back to Konoha." Running a hand through his hair, he used his sword as a leverage point to get himself back on his feet. "I think you should both go though. The two of you need a safe place you can live, a place that isn't just a brothel. I don't want you to get hurt here when I leave." When Naruko looked over at him he nodded, "Yeah, I am going to leave. I've heard word about unrest in Kirigakure, and I should go, try to help the cause. I was actually going to talk to Kushi, about it after your lessons." Naruko laughed to herself, Zabuza had been trying to find a cutesy nickname for her mother for a few months now, and 'Kushi' was his best attempt. It was a failure but it was his least terrible one.

That night Zabuza had taken Kushina out of Koriyo for the evening, to a neighboring town. In the town Zabuza told his lover of his wish for her and Naruko to return to Konoha. He didn't want to leave them with no protection at the Garden if he died during his next attempt on Yaguya. He wanted to be free of his nuke-nin status, and if he helped the rebelling clans of Kirigakure they had promised to clear him of it. With a clean slate he could even ask to leave his village's ninja forces and make a life for himself with Kushina in Konoha. He hadn't said it was what he wanted to do, but Kushina could hear the underlying desire. He wanted to be good enough for her without having to worry about hunter's looking for him. The black haired woman agreed, but demanded he come back to her some day.

The rest of the week consisted of Naruko and Kushina putting away what few possessions they had into sealing scrolls, working a few last shifts, and Naruko trying to get more training in with Zabuza. All of their stuff was put into two small scrolls for Naruko and one larger scroll for Kushina. Their last shifts had been rough on them. Naruko used them mostly to get the newest Poppy ready for her first time on stage. A few times during this period Rose Junko asked for her to provide music for her and her customers. Kushina just took on whatever she was needed for, but with one of the Daffodils sick, she was mostly on the stage. Naruko wanted to get one more jutsu in before she left for Konoha, she claimed it was because to 'be the best damn student kunoichi' at the academy, however she couldn't pick one.

Since she was unable to pick one more jutsu to learn they stuck to working on her kenjutsu. She was getting better with her sword now that she had gotten used to the size of it. It was still a heavy weight, but Naruko would not give up.

On the day they were leaving the two person Namikaze/Uzumaki family went to Zabuza's room, only to find it empty except for two gifts, one for each of them. The larger one was in a wooden box and was meant for Naruko. Inside was all of the original training scrolls for the Kubikiribocho and a note; "Hey brat, you better keep up on your work. If I hear you went to Konoha just to slack off I will hunt you down myself. Make sure you take care of your Kaa-san too, she will need you there." Kushina's had been a very small box, one that could actually fit in a single hand. Inside was just a slip of paper that said; "I promise to find my way back to you." Kushina couldn't help but cry at the gesture before she tucked the paper away into a locket the Swordsman had gotten her for last Christmas.

 **Time skip: First day of the new Academy year**

Naruko is standing in front of the Academy. The very place that her mother had met her father. The school responsible for some of the greatest ninja ever known. 'I might become such a legendary ninja my name will terrify enemies like Otou-san. Or maybe I will find my soul mate like Kaa-san.' Suddenly the blonde's hair flies up around her as she shakes her head. "Well gotta go inside if I want anything to happen."

With a deep breath in Naruko walks into the building where it will all begin. She is wearing her normal training shorts under an orange skirt that stops just above the knee, a pair of black ninja sandals, and a black shirt with the Uzumaki spiral near the collar on her front left side. In her shorts pocket was a scroll that Kushina had bought for her to keep her Kubikiribocho on her. The blonde Namikaze girl looks around the classroom a bit shocked. 'This is just like Yoko's room!' Finding a spot in the front row between two other student she heads over to the free seat, sitting her next to a boy with dark eyes and a girl with pale eyes that make her look frail and blind. Turning to the girl Naruko smiles, "Hello, I am Namikaze Naruko. I love your eyes!"

The new girl blushed and stuttered out, "H-hello, m-m-my name i-is H-Hyuuga Hinata." Naruko smiled even more and giggled. All the students looked over at the door into the room as who they assumed was their teacher entered and walked to the front of the room.

"Hello everyone, I am your instructor, Umino Iruka. While here you will be taught the basics of ninja abilities until your 3rd year, after that you will all pick a primary field of study such as medical, interrogation, or infiltration and will spend one day a week in classes for those while the rest of your classes will be with me. Now why don't we go around the room and just tell a little about ourselves. Just your names and what your parents do in the village is okay." The man now identified as Iruka was in the standard Chunin gear with his hair pulled back and up, and a scar across the bridge of his nose. "As I have said, I am Umino Iruka, your Chunin Instructor while you are in the Academy. My parents were both Konoha ninja. Sadly they are both deceased, they died on a mission in Iwa that went bad."

Slowly the rest of the class shared their backgrounds. Naruko paid attention to a few of her classmates. Uchiha Sasuke, son of the head of the Uchiha clan. Hyuuga Hinata, Hyuuga clan heiress, daughter of two Konoha ninja. There were several other clan heirs as well. Haruno Sakura was the daughter of two ninjas, but not from a clan. Then it was Naruko's turn.

"My name is Namikaze Naruko. My Otou-san was the Yondaime Hokage, Namikaze Minato. My Kaa-san is Namikaze Kushina, the current head of the Uzumaki clan, though it is just her and I. For the past few years, Kaa-san and I lived in Koriyo Village on the edge of the Land of Fire. While living there I was taught by a ninja from Kirigakure who became like a second Otou-san to me," Naruko knew it was a better idea to not say the name of her teacher. After her introduction, longer than most of the others, Naruko sat down in her seat again and watched her teacher, accidentally slipping into Yoko's room where she was kicked out by her annoyed sister. 'Ugh, Yoko is so grumpy when she wants to learn. Could have at least said hello.'

After the introductions were done Iruka gathered the students to go outside for an inconsequential test to see who had any practice with ninjutsu. Only a few stepped up to demonstrate. Naruko was the first to go, she was overly excited to use one of her better techniques. She decided to show off her Suiryudan jutsu as the school didn't have a body of water close enough for her Daibakufu no jutsu. Iruka had taken note of her use of such a strong technique with just her chakra, such a feat at her age meant her reserves must be even greater than his own.

 **Chapter end**

A/N: This ends my 4th chapter, as well as the end of the prologues. So many damn issues with this one, including internet issues. Have to say I am glad it is over now. Over 9000 words in this one chapter, that is more than double what my first three chapters have together. Now I know why most people keep their chapters on the shorter side, it gets rough. Next chapter will be after a significant time skip. If you want to, please PM me with who you want to see Naruko paired with, I am still thinking it over myself. The only pairing I will refuse is NarukoXSasuke, I will actually be making moves to eliminate that possibility.


	5. Chapter 5

Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

A/N: The main focus of this story is going to be Naruko, however I will have Kushina chapters from time to time. Those chapters will basically be Naruko on down time or just doing D-rank missions.

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Chapter 1: Naruko (Age 15)

"Oi Sasuke, wake the fuck up!" Naruko had been slamming the palm of her hand on the door to his room for twenty minutes now. 'Why do I have to wake him up again Yoko-onee-chan? The blonde was ready to tear his door down, she had been up and ready to leave almost an hour ago. Crossing her arms under her chest, Naruko began tapping her foot.

She was dressed in her mission gear, black pants, a short sleeve jacket, with her hitai-ate on her forehead and her hair pulled back in a low ponytail. The pants were just tight enough to show the shape of her legs with her usual sealing scroll, to hold her sword as well as her shamisen, on her right hip with her weapons pouch. Naruko's jacket was short sleeved, black with orange on the inside, as well as orange on the bottom hem and cuffs, and hugged her curvy figure. Under her jacket Naruko wears a mesh armor shirt over the band style bra that supports her C-cup breasts. The mesh shirt has sleeves that reach to her wrists while the bottom falls to her waist.

'Because, Naruko-onee-chan, Kaa-san took him in after the Uchiha Massacre due to her being friends with Mikoto-san, as well as being his god mother.' Yoko had grown over the years as well. She was still a perfect reflection of Naruko, not counting Yoko's tail, ears, and hair color, but her hair had been left to grow out more. She tended to complement, yet hide, their mirrored figure in more traditional clothes.

The morning after the Massacre swam up from the depths of Naruko's memories. The academy was still in it's second month of her first year. The school day had been cancelled because every available person was needed.

 **Flashback start**

Naruko was running through the streets, sometimes choosing to take shortcuts through alleys and over fences and walls. She had to get to the other end of town as fast as she could. 'I have to see if Sasuke is alive. He can't be dead, and Itachi couldn't have killed them all. Itachi was always so nice, maybe a little tired but that was because he was overworked.' Pulling herself to a sliding stop Naruko was now standing outside the massive Uchiha compound, which was more like an entire district of Konoha. Choosing to start on the streets around the compound Naruko circled the entire premises and couldn't find anyone other than the chunin and jonin cleaning up the area. Jumping over one of the walls, Naruko began her search around the inside of the compound. She had gone through a few rooms of the old main building unnoticed before Iruka came up to the still pajama clad girl.

"Naruko-chan? What are you doing here? This isn't a place for children right now." He approached her slowly and put a hand on her shoulder as he talked. She jumped at his hand on her shoulder and threw out her foot, catching him in the stomach.

"Oh no, I'm sorry Iruka-sensei you scared me." She helped her, now doubled over, teacher and calmed herself. "Did anybody find Sasuke?" Naruko may not be the biggest fan of the youngest Uchiha but he was a classmate, which meant he was a future comrade and deserved her worry.

"Yes. We found him this morning outside the front gates, he had been put under some kind of genjutsu." Iruka was still holding an arm to his middle and eased a deep breath into his lungs. "He should be at Konoha Hospital being examined. If you want to, you should go see him."

Naruko nodded and jumped over the walls again, back onto the streets before running towards the hospital. Along the way the blonde stumbled into her mother walking with an ANBU in a dog mask. When she approached and asked what was going on Kushina told her, "I am on my way to the hospital to pick up Sasuke." When asked why she was going to get him she smiled sadly and responded. "I was very good friends with Sasuke's mother, Mikoto, and before I left the village she asked me to be his godmother." The two Uzumaki women continued their walk to the hospital where they picked up the seemingly broken Uchiha and took him to their home in silence.

That first night with Sasuke there was rough on all three of them. Sasuke would wake up randomly, screaming, his dreams haunted by the genjutsu Itachi had used on him. Naruko's room was right next to the room he was in, so every time he woke up, so did she. Kushina had not even gotten to sleep once that night. She stayed on the main level of the Uzumaki residence, ready for any sign that her help was needed. When morning had come and Sasuke had not woken up after several hours Kushina went up to his room and found Naruko there, just talking to her sleeping classmate, her own head slowly nodding as she fought sleep.

 **Flashback end**

Naruko renewed her assault on the door in front of her, shaking the memories from her thoughts. Itachi had been a nice person and she still couldn't wrap her mind around the possibility. Since being taken in by the Uzumaki family Sasuke and Naruko had become like siblings. They acted just like normal siblings would, doing everything from petty challenges to messing with each others stuff. "I swear to Kami, teme, if I break this door down and find you on top of Sakura-chan again I am going to beat your ass all over Konoha!" It had been an unspoken understanding that, the recently graduated, Team 7's medi-nin and pretty boy were a couple.

Sasuke and Sakura had started dating in their second to last year of the academy, around the same time that Sasuke had begun to open up to the world again. It hadn't been until they had graduated from the academy that the two had begun to get more physically intimate.

Naruko didn't really care about them being together because she was currently attracted to her Jonin sensei, Kakashi, and had her own physically intimate companions as well. Her interest in the man was something that only she and Yoko knew, or so she thought though no one said anything about it. It was Yoko's apprehensions about it that had her always driving a shiver up Naruko's back when she thought about it. 'He is older than you Naruko-onee-chan, we don't know by how much though.' Naruko sighed, she knew that he was older but she didn't really care. 'All we know about him is his name from that dumb introduction two days ago. And today is some kind of survival test.'

'I know Yoko, I know. It's not like I can help it though, just like you can't help your preference to other women.' Naruko was fine with having partners of either gender, she was just picky on the actual person. 'And don't get me wrong Yoko-onee-chan, I like being naughty with Hinata and teasing Ino as much as you do.' The blonde and the Hyuuga heiress had been more of a friends with benefits thing, though Hinata often wished for more out of it, that had started one time when Naruko had snuck a bottle of sake from the Hyuuga estate when she was 13. After finally convincing her pale eyed friend to try some, Hinata had a little too much and got handsy with the equally drunk, and curious, blonde. Since then the two had frequent sexual encounters, especially after times of high stress such as end-of-year exams or after one of the Hyuuga heiress's sparring matches to decide if she was worthy of being the heiress to the clan.

Ino was just a target of teasing, during their last year in the academy Naruko's Infiltration and Ino's Interrogation classes were having a joint exercise in Konoha T&I to go over ways to gain information or keep information secret while working undercover. Before the class had started a woman in a large brown trench coat had asked them all to read and sign waivers that basically said they couldn't complain if they felt things went a little too far during the exercise. It also stated that no one could use extreme methods to gather information such as physical torture. During Ino's turn to try and hold back information Naruko had chosen to go with a seduction based strategy. She kept it reserved, just small nips on the ears, wondering hands across the chest, kisses to the neck, basically she just never touched anywhere between the other blonde's legs. Ultimately Naruko was able to get the info she had wanted out of a tired and panting Ino.

Unknown to the blonde her door hammering had mustered the black haired boy from his sleep. He still had days where he woke up and wondered why he wasn't at the Uchiha compound, and this was one of them. As a third wave of banging came, Sasuke was reminded of why and began to get ready for the day. "Hey teme, open the door or I am cutting it to pieces!" Knowing that his pseudo sister was not lying about doing this, he went to the door and opened it, his shirt still off and pants hanging off of one hip. When he opened the door Naruko had her sword in hand, ready to swing. "I'm getting ready now Naruko. Wait for me downstairs or something." Naruko nodded but scanned the room quickly before leaving.

"You're lucky Sakura isn't in there this time." Naruko said, walking away from the door and resealing her sword. Over the years, because of her growing up, it had gone from being as big as her to being an appropriate length for a katana but was still basically a slab of metal. She had asked a Konoha blacksmith to rework the blade a bit a few years ago. Knowing that the size and shape of her Kubikiribocho copy kept it from being an all purpose blade, kinda hard to stab someone when the blade is meant to sever, she had asked that the detachable handle be turned into something she could remove and use to stab with. Sadly none of the blacksmiths in Konoha were able to do anything to help her.

A few minutes later Sasuke walks down the stairs and into the Uzumaki kitchen. Kushina had left early for a village council meeting. Naruko was at the table cleaning a few of her kunai, for some reason she liked to use flat bladed knives instead of the normal standard ones. "Where is breakfast Naruko?" Looking at the table Sasuke can tell that there had been plenty of food, but none was left now. He also knew that Kushina always made enough for everyone in the house, since she was the only one that cooked. This meant that Naruko must have eaten his meal too.

"Breakfast is for people who are up on time teme." Pocketing her kunai, Naruko got up from her chair and dragged the Uchiha to the front door. "Let's go, we will get you something on the way to the training grounds." Naruko slipped on her two inch heel shinobi sandals and let Sasuke get his men's sandals on as well. Taking to the rooftops, the two teammates stopped at a bakery on the way to let the late riser grab something to eat.

"Hurry up Sasuke, Kakashi-sensei will probably be late but I want to tune my shamisen for a bit." Naruko was standing behind Sasuke, her hands behind her back and leaning forward. The line in the small bakery was longer than normal. Looking around the blonde caught sight of the perfect reason for the long line, a hungry Hyuuga Heiress with a love of cinnamon rolls. Hinata was busy looking over the buns that had been selected by the staff and her face showed minor irritation. 'They probably gave her too many small ones.' Giggling, Naruko approached her friend and wrapped her arms around the blue haired girl leaning in to whisper in her ear, "You know, I bet you taste sweeter than those buns."

Hinata jumped in the blonde's arms and blushed violently. Looking back she puffed up her cheeks before stuttering out, "N-Naruko, p-please don't d-do that!" Smoothly sliding to her toes Naruko kissed the girl on the nose before letting go. The Hyuuga's blush only got worse before it settled down. Sasuke chose this time to walk up to the two and put his goods, bagels with bits of tomato in them, down on the counter and paying for both his bagels and Hinata's rolls.

"Hey blondie I thought you wanted to get going to the training grounds, and now you're hanging on your bedroom playmate like an oversized t-shirt." Sasuke said, bored and holding the box of buns for Hinata in his right hand. The two girls blushed and Naruko took a step back after giving Hinata a slight peck on the cheek. "You coming or not Naruko? I don't think Sakura, or Kakashi-sensei, will appreciate you skipping the test for a daylong quickie." This comment got the blonde moving, trying to take a swing at her adopted brother.

After returning to their rooftop route, the two young residents of the Uzumaki Compound found themselves at their assigned training field ten minutes after leaving the bakery. Naruko looked around, the grounds were simple; a couple dummies for shuriken and other thrown weapons, plenty of room with a couple different terrains. This was probably one of the better training grounds in Konoha. 'Probably for the last Uchiha, a gift from the kiss-asses on the council probably.' Naruko walked in a bit further and found a spot under a tree where she unsealed her shamisen and began to play as she waited. Sakura came out from one of the wooded areas further in the training field, she had gotten there about 20 minutes before her two teammates and chose to explore the area.

Kakashi strolled lazily into the field, his little orange book in hand, almost 3 hours late. They were supposed to be there at 5 but all of them had chosen to be on the late side, so instead of having waited for the full 3 hours, team seven had only waited about 2 and a half hours. "Today we will be testing just what you can do. If you fail, you go back to the Academy. To pass, you need to take one of these bells from me." Putting his book away as he finished Kakashi looked up at the three, "Oh and you better come at me with the intent to kill if you want to pass."

Chapter end.

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Ending notes: Well, this is the end of my first step in my version of Naruko's life. Next chapter will be half Kushina's council meeting and half Team 7's test. I hope the chapter goes well. Please keep in mind, I am still taking PM's on the issue of pairings for Naruko. At this point my original plan was to make her focus on Kakashi, but I am currently thinking about making it more of a puppy crush. If I don't get any opinions I will be sticking with Kakashi.

Yoko related: The reason that both Naruko and Yoko call each other onee-chan is because they don't really know who would be the older between them as Yoko came into existence the same time as Naruko being born. No one has asked yet but I wanted to have it said before someone did. Yoko is not going to be a split personality in case anyone thinks that might be what I aim to do. Maybe in a filler chapter I will do something but for now, Yoko is just a facet of Naruko's chakra and emotions.

Age changes are in place too for a few reasons. I personally feel that in a time of "peace" like the one in canon Naruto would be met with a change in graduating processes for the ninjas, giving them more time in the Academy to learn what they need more and develop their own specialties. Because of this, I get to use a Sakura who is more helpful on missions than just stands there like a wall. She may not be Tsunade strong yet but she will be when the slug sannin returns to Konoha. The reason I want a healer Sakura at the start is because Naruko does not have Kurama sealed inside her so she won't have the regeneration factor provided by the fox. The age changes also allow me to have a Kakashi who isn't too old for Naruko, if that becomes the pairing.


	6. Chapter 6

Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

* * *

Chapter 2: Kushina

Sighing as she walked towards the Hokage tower, Kushina was dressed in her normal clothes; a sleeveless blouse and calf length loose dress. Today the coloring was baby blue for the shirt, and a purple dress that matched her eyes. Since she was going to the council meeting as part of the clan representatives she was also wearing her hitai-ate on her forehead. 'Why do I have to be here? They never ask for me to come to these meetings.' Walking through the front door of the tower Kushina approached the reception desk and checked in before heading to the Council room. No one was in the room when Kushina opened the door. The Uzumaki head waited in the hall, where she was joined by Inuzuka Tsume, the head of Konoha's nin-ken clan, about two minutes later.

"Hello Tsume-san." Kushina greeted the brown haired woman with a slight wave. Tsume had been a close friend of Kushina's before she had left and over the past 7 years that friendship had been rebuilt. To Kushina, it was refreshing to see someone who was a clan head but not too formal. Honestly the Inuzuka woman was probably the furthest person from formal in the entire village, not counting Mitarashi Anko.

Tsume smiled and waved back. "Morning Kushina. Have you put any more thought into setting our kids up for an arrangement?" The wild haired woman laughed after her question. This had been a bit of a joke between the two single mothers for about four years now. Every time the brown haired mother brought up the topic she would receive the same answer as the first time.

"No, Naruko was a very wild and loud girl, and it has only gotten worse as she has grown up. She is a lot like you actually." Kushina smiled and laughed along with Tsume about it. "And she has no skills when it comes to cooking. She can only make cup ramen." Kushina walked over next to Tsume who was nodding her head.

"Yeah, my son is too much like his father. He would run away as fast as he could after a year." Tsume laughed and nodded a bit more. "He can't cook either so they would starve in no time."

The two mothers continued to chat until the rest of the council arrived. After about five minutes all of the elders and civilian members were present. Most of the clan heads were as well, the only missing one being Nara Shikaku. Shortly after all parties present took their seats the Sandaime Hokage stepped in, trailed by the tardy Nara head. Both men took their seats before Sarutobi began the meeting.

"Who called for this meeting?" The older man asked calmly watching the room, especially the other three elders. His hat was on his head, forcing him to sit forward more than his tired bones would like. "As I am sure you all remember the one who is allowed to call for meetings is myself." With his eyes still surveying the other members he stopped on Mitokado Homura, one of his old teammates, as the man spoke.

"The elder members called for this meeting. It is within our power to do so if we feel it is a matter concerning the future of the village." Sarutobi had obviously known it was the elders who called for the meeting, it was an allowance he gave to his former teammates. What the Hokage really wanted to know was whose idea it was, and he got his answer as Homura continued on, his eyes drifting to their other former teammate Shimura Danzo. "We of the elder council feel that Uzumaki Kushina must remarry as to continue on the Uzumaki bloodline and provide the village with future hosts for the Kyuubi."

With this proclamation Kushina was on her feet with anger in her voice and eyes. Looking over at the red haired woman Homura kept going. "We also believe that any children from said union should be put under the tutelage of Danzo. This way the next host can properly use the powers of the Kyuubi, like the jinchuuriki of the eight-tails from Kumogakure." This was the pushing factor for Kushina, her hair began to lift from her back and split into 9 tail-like forms as malice flooded the air.

This outburst stopped Homura from continuing, but allowed the female member of the elder council, Utatane Koharu, to pick it up. "It has been 15 years since the passing of the Yondaime. That means that the daughter you had together is already too old for her to be the host, her chakra coils are too developed now." Kushina looked over at the older woman now, cutting Koharu off before she continued.

"I have every right to refuse this idiotic belief of your war hawk puppet-master's!" Kushina had picked up on the drifting gazes to the heavily bandaged man a few times. "It doesn't matter if you or even Lord Hokage wants me to remarry, I have my own rights! And who would you even propose I marry? One of these civilian council members, who will use it as a chance to take my late husband's and my own wealth as their own and keep it from my daughter? Or maybe you want me to marry Danzo instead, that way he can train any children whether I want it or not." Kushina clenched her hands into fists, ready to slam them down on the table.

"Your options for a husband would be any man in the village, so yes one of the civilian council members or Danzo could end up as your spouse." Koharu looked at the angry mother. "If you are still unwilling to comply to this request then the council can request that your daughter be the one married, and we will. As she is a citizen of Konoha who is enlisted in the village's shinobi forces, we have every right to do it too. Is that a lie Hiruzen?"

With this new threat against her daughter Kushina finally slammed her fist into the table, ruining the worn but well kept wood and leaving a small crater in it. Before she could continue her refusals though Sarutobi spoke up. "We could. However we will do no such thing. All decisions such as this are up to the Hokage and I will not force either Uzumaki woman into that kind of life." Bringing his fingers together under his chin Sarutobi looked at all those present. "This is not up for discussion, and if it finds its way back into this meeting room then I will refuse it before the table takes any more damage." Standing from his seat the Hokage moved to the double doors before looking back into the room. "All clan heads, please come to my office. We have matters to discuss pertaining to your children."

All members of the ninja half of the council looked among themselves, giving the aged Hokage a minute before following after him. Once all the clan heads were in the room Sarutobi closed the blinds in his office and gave a command to his hidden ANBU guards for them to leave. When it was just the Hokage and the clan heads the old man lit his pipe and took a slow drag on it. "To start off, you are all here so we can watch your children during the teamwork tests with their Jonin sensei. Before we do though, I have to slightly agree with my old teammates on one thing. You should remarry Kushina. Of course it is your choice on who and when, but it would be good for you. As well as keep them from trying to do this again." As he talked, the oldest ninja present released the smoke.

Sighing Kushina nodded a bit. "I really do agree, but I'm not willing to move on with anyone from Konoha." Kushina looked at the other present clan heads, she had not told any one other than Jiraiya about her relationship with Zabuza. "There is someone that I am waiting for. I met him while Naruko and I were living in Koriyo Village." Gently clutching the locket she always wore around her neck, Kushina slowly opened it and read her lover's last words to her.

Sarutobi looked at the Uzumaki head expectantly, but he was not going to push for details. Jiraiya had told him some things after he brought the mother and child back to Konoha. The Hokage had also watched the first day of Naruko's first year through his crystal ball and remembered the blonde saying that there had been a man who she saw as a second father. After his years of experience Sarutobi guessed that the young Uzumaki's first teacher was probably the same person Kushina was waiting for.

Taking a deep breath Kushina looked around the room at the other adults. "I want this to stay secret, between everyone here." Taking out a sheet of paper from her pocket Kushina wrote her secret down. When she was done, she let the Hokage read it first and then turned it around for the other clan heads to read. It read: "During my almost 5 years away, I developed a relationship with a nuke-nin from Kirigakure. He was a former member of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. His name is Momochi Zabuza, he also was Naruko's first teacher."

Once everyone had read the note Sarutobi took it and burned it with the lit tobacco in his pipe, and made sure that there was no way to recover the lost message. "That is a significant detail Kushina, and I am glad you shared it with us." Taking another drag from his pipe the aged man took out the crystal ball and brought it to life. "We will start with the new Team 7." Focusing on the strongest chakra network in the direction of Training Field 7, bringing an image of a sitting Naruko playing her instrument, the gathered clan heads watched. "Well I guess Kakashi has yet to arrive so we will move on, it will be another hour or so before he gets there."

Focusing on another chakra signature on the opposite side of the village Sarutobi was able to find Team 8's Genin. They were all in their own section of the training field while their teacher, Yuhi Kurenai, was setting genjutsu and explosive traps in a wooded area. "Kurenai seems to be testing them using a minefield. It also looks like she is using traps they won't notice in their own area. Kiba will face genjutsu traps, while Hinata will be crossing through a section of paper bombs, and Shino's field is probably something that only Kiba will notice." Looking back at the crystal ball all of the present clan heads saw as the three students reached the same area from different sides of their teacher.

 **With Team 8**

Kiba was the first to try making his way to his team's teacher and was instantly caught in a low level genjutsu, causing him to wonder into the next more powerful illusion. The combination of the two genjutsu leaves Kiba stuck in place, rambling about enemies everywhere in the trees. Worried for her teammate Hinata stepped forward, igniting one of the hidden exploding tags. Jumping back the Hyuuga heiress was able to escape the small blast radius. Shino stood back, watching the scene unfold, before sending out a small swarm of his kikaichu. As the bugs approached the area they began to split up, out of his control, and would just circle around in the air.

Activating her Byakugan, Hinata looked towards the ground but was unable to see any of the exploding tags. Looking up at her teammates she could see the chakra used to make the genjutsu, but could not find the reason for Shino's bugs to act like they were. "Sh-Shino-san can you use your b-bugs to free Kiba? I thi-ink he is u-under at least two o-of Kurenhai-se-sensei's genjutsu." The sunglasses wearing teen nodded his head silently before doing as the Hyuuga heiress asked. The effect was instant, Kiba regained the spark of conscience in his eyes and looked at the rest of his team. After coming back to the world of reality Kiba could smell some strong incense or bug repellent from the direction of Shino. None of the present genin knew that the unseen substance had actually been sealed into the same paper as the exploding tags, and had been released when Hinata had set the first one off.

"What the hell happened to me?" Kiba asked his teammates as he continued to take in the scene around him. The smell seemed to be thinning, but the kikaichu were still acting with no control. "Hinata, I got caught in a genjutsu right?" At the nod from the female genin he asked his next question. "Can you guide me to where Shino is? I don't want to get trapped again." He watched as Hinata looked around him, her Byakugan active, and shook her head.

"Th-there are t-too many ar-around you for you to w-w-walk out." She deactivated her 'all seeing eyes' and looked at her other teammates. "I'm s-sorry I c-can't h-help." Sighing before looking over his head Kiba tried to get another whiff of whatever was messing with the kikaichu before an idea struck him.

"Do the triggers need me to step on them?" The brown haired Inuzuka asked as he called to Akamaru, who had been hiding in the bushes nearby. Reactivating her Byakugan Hinata could clearly see the shaped chakra. She could also see that the traps had no presence after about his waist.

"The tr-riggers o-only go to about y-your waist. A-after that th-there is n-nothing to w-orry a-about," answered the stuttering kunoichi. Hinata scanned the rest of the area again before releasing her Byakugan. "Th-there are n-no tr-traps ou-outside of a 120 d-degree cone st-starting at K-kurenai-sensei."

"Shino, get ready. I'll be over there in a second to clear out whatever is messing with your bug collection." With a large grin on his face Kiba jumped into the air with Akamaru following his lead, and both began to spin. "Gatsuga!" With the call of his technique both ninja and animal began to spin quickly, pulling air into the two twisters. The suction created by the spinning also drew in the last of whatever was keeping the kikaichu from Shino's control, as the two partners cut through the area.

As soon as the near scentless substance was gone from the air Shino was able to recall his bugs. "Hinata, can you see where the exploding tags are hidden?" The quiet Aburame asked his female teammate and was answered with a shake of the blue haired girl's head. "Then let's see if my kikaichu can help. Holding his arms out in front of him Shino urged the insects out from his sleeves into a large writhing black cloud. After the swarm was the size of two fully grown men it began to descend to the ground where it broke up as the bugs burrowed under the ground. After about 3 minutes the swarm began to resurface, some of the kikaichu were carrying bits of the exploding tags that left the remains still buried unarmed.

The three genin grouped up in front of their teacher and got ready to attack. Kiba and Akamaru were ready to go with another Gatsuga at the first sign of a charge. Hinata was in the traditional Hyuuga juken stance with her pale eyes already trained on the first tenketsu she would strike. Shino had his arms down at his sides with all of his bugs pouring out of his oversized jacket.

Kurenai watched them before smiling and clapping her hands slowly. "Good job everyone. You have all passed." At her students' confused faces, or expressionless in Shino's case, the Genjutsu Mistress continued. "This wasn't a test of your independent abilities but rather a test of your ability to work together as a team. Now that you have passed you are officially true genin of Team 8. And together you will become a tracking team with no equal." Kurenai finished with a pleased tone of voice as she looked at her new team.

 **Back with the clan heads in the Hokage tower**

"Ah good, Team 8 has passed, and it seems with flying colors at that." The aged Hokage sat back from the crystal ball sighing contently. "Good indeed." The clan heads were all impressed with Team 8's genin, in very little time and with almost no communication they were able to help each other. "Let us take a look at Team 7 again." Sarutobi leaned back in towards the crystal ball and focused on the blonde Namikaze girl's chakra again. This time every member, minus the Jonin sensei, were relaxing within the image. Sasuke was napping in the branches of a tree while Sakura sat on the edge of the small stream in the training grounds. Naruko was under a different tree from Sasuke, facing the entrance their teacher would use to get in if he came on foot, and was restringing her shamisen. "I guess Kakashi is still absent. We will check in on team 10 for now." Changing his focus, the Hokage was easily able to find the chakra signature of his son Sarutobi Asuma. "It appears that we are just in time to see how the new Ino-Shika-Cho do on their test."

The image in the crystal ball cleared up and showed the three genin all facing their new sensei. All three of them looked exhausted and about to fall over. Choji was only standing thanks to the tree he was leaning on to his right, he was panting heavily and his eyes were closed. Shikamaru was hunched over with his hands on his knees, sweating and panting but watching the smoking Jonin-sensei in front of him. Ino was the most upright of the three, though her knees looked ready to give out any minute and her hair was plastered to her face with sweat.

 **With Team 10**

"Oh come on you three, you must be able to do better than that. I thought you said this test would be easy Ino." Asuma was standing about ten feet away from them, with a lit cigarette in his mouth. He had his arms to his sides but bent at the elbows with his hands out in the air, each hand holding one of his trench knives. "If you guys don't step up your game you won't pass." Asuma's tone was indifferent as he looked at his students, boredom plain on his face. "All you have to do is capture me, it isn't that tough."

Gulping in air as he spoke, Shikamaru chose to answer his teacher's prods. "This...coming from... the guy... who...is a Jonin... ranked ninja and former member... of the Twelve Guardian Ninja." Looking at his teammates the Nara heir stood up as straight as he could. "This is too troublesome. Choji, how are you doing on chakra? Ino, get ready to step back and provide cover." Ino nodded her head as she got ready to jump back, a kunai in her hand. Choji gave his friend a thumbs up as he pushed himself off the tree. "Okay, let's go. Choji grab Asuma-sensei. Ino, keep him focused on blocking. Go now!"

After a quick scan of the area Shikamaru charged in towards a defending Asuma only to be kicked to the side, out of site. The other two clan heirs of Team 10 kept up their assault. Choji was trying to conserve chakra so he was focusing more on grabbing a single arm or leg, but every time he tried Asuma would jump away just in time. Ino threw every kunai and shuriken she had on her any time Choji was about to get hit, however she never hit the Jonin she was aiming for. Every time one of her projectiles got close Asuma would bat it out of the air into the ground at his feet.

"Come on you guys, this is getting old now. I haven't even used ninjutsu yet." Asuma taunted as he blocked another kunai towards his right. Choji rushed the older man again, this time using his family's Bubun Baika Jutsu to increase the size of his right leg and using it to launch himself at Asuma before changing the augmented body part to his fist. Taken back by the sudden use of the technique and the method it was used in Asuma tried to jump over the Akimichi's attack, only to find he couldn't move at all. Looking through the space Asuma eventually found what had him trapped, it was the Nara clan's infamous shadow technique. The shadow had been stretched thin and traveled from the shadows of each of Ino's thrown weapons.

Choji opened his hand to grab his new teacher instead of hit him, giving Shikamaru the chance to recall his shadow. Once his shadow was called back the unmotivated Nara stepped out from the brush and stood next to his long time Akimichi friend. They were joined by Ino a second later, who looked a little better than before since she had been able to hang back a bit while Shikamaru's plan played out. Keeping Asuma captured in Choji's enlarged arm and hand the genin looked at their teacher. "So, do we pass now Asuma-sensei?" Ino had been the one to ask the question that all three wanted answered.

"Yes. You all pass." Once released Asuma took out a cigarette and lit it before he spoke again. "The three of you were put together in order to become the next Ino-Shika-Cho team. A team like yours can fill a lot of roles on missions. Especially infiltration, intelligence gathering, assassination, capture missions, and assaults. However you need to be able to work together as a team and trust in each other. Like when you trusted in Shikamaru to have a plan when he took charge of the situation, without explaining anything more than what you needed to do." During his entire speech Asuma had been taking small puffs of his cigarette and letting the smoke out as he spoke, but now he took a longer drag of it before his next statement. "We are all now officially Team 10. Take tomorrow to rest up and meet me here for training the following day.

 **Back in the Hokage's office**

"Team 10 has passed as well. And they are a very promising team too." The Hokage relaxed a bit, stretching out his aching arms and back before looking at the clan heads in his office. "They will need to learn more of the clan techniques, but they already have a strong sense of teamwork." Looking at the now clear crystal ball the Sarutobi elder took a look at the clock before going on. "It is now 8 o'clock. Kakashi should be arriving shortly, so let's check in on Team 7 one more time." Feeding chakra to the ball on his desk the Hokage exhaled as he found four chakra signatures in the training field in question. Once the image was clear enough all present watched as the white haired Jonin crossed the bridge into the field and began his explanation of Team 7's test.

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Thank you for reading everybody. Next chapter will be the test from the view of Naruko and her team with a quick trip back to the Hokage's office afterwards.

Till next time, have fun.


	7. Chapter 7

Naruko: The Story Redone

By: dbrame91

A/N: There will be a few original Jutsu in this chapter, they will be marked with asterisks (*) and explained at the end of the chapter.

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Chapter 3: Naruko

"You want us to what?!" Naruko was staring at the white haired Jonin in front of her. She had heard some stories about the man she now called sensei, but they never made him sound _this_ crazy. Sure they were only Genin, but even recently graduated ninja could do some serious damage. "Kaa-san had you all wrong, she said you were just a normal guy. But you are fucking insane! There are three of us and only one of you."

"And I am an experienced Jonin. More than experienced enough to take all three of you at once." The blank stare from his one visible eye told Team 7 exactly how true it was. The look in his eye showed just how easy it would be for him to go against an entire class of Genin, and even Chunin, by himself. "Allow me to introduce myself a bit better than the bare bones I gave you two days ago. My name is Hatake Kakashi, Jonin of Konohagakure. Known as the Copy Ninja Kakashi to many, and able to use all five standard chakra natures as well as yin and yang. I am the last surviving student of the Yondaime Hokage," at this part he looked towards Naruko. "If it makes it easier for you to give it everything you have, think of me as an enemy during war."

"I'm still not comfortable with this idea." It was Sakura's turn to speak up now. She understood that his rank alone should have told them they stood a snowball's chance in hell against the silver haired man. Even knowing that though she felt like he was underestimating them. Sure they didn't have any experience fighting as a team but Sasuke had been Rookie of the Year in their class, Naruko had been an almost unstoppable force back in the Academy, and she herself had a decent skill with both genjutsu and medical ninjutsu. When they were in the Academy Sasuke had top grades in all of their courses, both physical and intellectual. Naruko was so stealthy that she had been able to set up pranks in a crowded classroom without anyone even seeing, and in their last year she could hold her own against five opponents without using a single jutsu or even getting winded. Sakura had been more than able to keep up with Sasuke when it came to intellectual pursuits, in their ninja courses she fell behind on most subjects like taijutsu and ninjutsu due to her smaller chakra reserves but her control had been top of the class. "What if someone gets hurt?"

Kakashi looked at her, a deadpan look in his one visible eye, "You are a medic aren't you? If someone gets hurt, you can help them."

"What are the exact rules of this test?" Sasuke spoke up, gaining his sensei's attention. In his head he was already running down the supplies and tools he had brought with him today: a small spool of ninja wire, a handful of shuriken, too few kunai for comfort, and a couple emergency soldier pills. 'That isn't going to be enough to take him down, but I have to try.'

Sighing deeply the masked man began to break down the test more thoroughly. "I have with me two bells," at this he motioned to them on one of his back belt loops and continued on, "You have until lunch, or for both bells to be stolen from me, to retrieve one. If you fail to do so within the time limit or before they are both gone, you fail and go back to the Academy. This means that all of you can be sent back, two of you can be returned to the academy, or only one of you can go back." Kakashi moved his gaze to each one as he talked. "Does that explain it clear enough for you?" At their nods he clapped his hands together. "Good, now that we are all clear on that, begin."

With his last word all three of the Genin moved as fast as they could. They needed time to plan their own assaults. 'Good stealth, almost completely hidden. I can still smell them, though Sasuke is still moving further away.' Turning away from where they had been Kakashi's view was suddenly filled with the bottom of a slightly heeled shinobi sandal. "Already got you old man!" Naruko cheered as she felt her foot connect, just before a cloud of smoke enveloped the area only to clear just as quickly and reveal a Kakashi masked straw dummy. "Oh Kami, damn it."

"Lesson one, of all shinobi: Taijutsu." Crouching behind the blond was her teacher, looking up at her. "Strike fast and strike hard. Keep your opponent on the defensive and always watch behind you." Reaching out, the Jonin grabbed Naruko by the ankle before pulling it out from under her and throwing the shocked girl behind him, into the training field's water source. "You aren't taking this serious enough Namikaze. Your file made you sound more impressive than this." Straightening up Kakashi patted his knees, despite not being dirty at all. 'Maybe I should make them angry, get them to go all out. Kushina, forgive me, I am about to say some very inappropriate things about you but I do not mean a word.' Twisting his torso around a bit while stretching out his arm he chose to push his luck. "I guess your mother resorted to sleeping with your teacher to keep your grades up. Well what can you do, once a whore always a whore."

Instantly a burst of rage and chakra assaulted Kakashi, actually stunning him momentarily, and causing the water to surge upward. 'I think it worked.' As the water was effected by gravity once again his blond student came into view, standing on top of the water. "Say that again you one eyed fuck and I will show you why even the Kyuubi should fear me!" Flipping through hand signs quickly Naruko created five water clones. Once all six of the infuriated Namikazes stood ready they began to flip through the same, long sequence of hand signs. "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu!" All six shouted, bringing six identical dragons from the surface of the water and sent them after the man as their tails merged, to make it a six headed water dragon, and the true Naruko spoke up, "Namikaze variant: Hidora Nesuto!"*

Thinking quickly Kakashi fled the area, using the substitution technique again. This time the replacement was a log with a note reading "Sorry" carved into it. Now crouching in some bushes by himself Kakashi planned his next course of action. 'Note to self, Kushina-san's legendary temper appears to be genetic.' Kakashi had known his comments would anger the blond. Her file had everything about her, including a report where she had beaten an Academy instructor by the name of Mizuki senseless when he had made a similar comment about the Uzumaki head. "Time to find my Rookie of the Year I guess. Give her some time to cool off before reengaging."

'Hey, you still able to feel where Kaka-sensei is Yoko-nee?' Naruko tried to relax a little, she knew it was a bad idea to let her anger control her and refused to let her teacher get the drop on her again. She also knew, that due to the close relationship her teacher had had with her father and mother, he had most likely only said that in order to make her lash out. "I guess making up jutsu comes easy for the Namikaze family. That was totally an accident." Naruko chuckled to herself with an obviously faked innocence. She did just come up with the idea for that jutsu, but even with only 1/10th of her strength it was impressive. "Almost like a mini Daibakufu no Jutsu."

'No, sorry Naruko-nee. Kakashi-sensei is too far for me to find.' Yoko had a few more differences to Naruko, other than appearance. Where Naruko had wind affinity as well as a developed water affinity, Yoko had inherited the Kyuubi's chakra alignments of wind and fire. Due to Yoko's smaller chakra reserves she tended to act more as a sensor, especially seeing as she had no ability to act upon the real world but could easily pick up on things that Naruko didn't notice, like faint smells.

'Can you feel either Sakura or Sasuke at all then?' Looking at her reflection in the water under her feet, Naruko drew in a deep breath and crossed the water source back towards the spot she had been sitting in before Kakashi arrived. Looking at the damaged field around her Naruko took a mental note for future experimentation with her Hidora Nesuto. Where the six dragon heads had impacted the ground was now a fairly good size crater. 'Smaller than something Tsunade-sama could make, if the stories about her are true.' She also noticed that the sides of the hole where rugged, and more like chunks had been removed than precise digging.

'Yes, I feel Sakura a little to the east of here. She had been watching until you used the Hidora Nesuto. But after that she fled further in. The last time I felt Kakashi he was moving towards Sasuke though.' Yoko stretched her arms out above her head as she spoke, her room seemed to have settled on a forest environment for now. 'Sasuke went further into the training field, heading North before I lost him.'

"Sakura first. She is more likely to listen and agree to a team up. Plus it will be less likely to run me into Kakashi-sensei again." Naruko took off towards the east, moving quick but careful, in case she came across Kakashi again. Sakura was barely hiding when Team 7's blond Genin found her. Approaching the nervous looking girl Naruko cleared her throat gently, "Sakura I think we should work together on this. You can have the bell. At this point I just want to get a clean hit."

"Sorry Naruko, but this is too important to just trust you like that. I won't get in your way on purpose, but I'm not helping you out either." Sakura turned back to the spot she had been watching. Naruko sighed and ran off towards the north after the pinkette's refusal. Thanks to spending a lot of her time with her only male teammate, Sakura had picked up a couple of helpful trapping skills and was now waiting to hopefully catch Kakashi. Using a lot of ninja wire and low grade exploding tags, Sakura had woven a web of explosives that would snap into place, having only been lightly covered with dirt and fallen leaves, with a slight twitch of her finger. Once her sensei was in the trap she would hit him with a genjutsu and take one of the bells herself.

Sakura's plan could have worked if she had noticed that after Naruko left Kakashi had found her as well. Kakashi cleared his throat just as Naruko had, making the medic-nin turn to the noise before having her own plan turned around on her. "Shinobi lesson two: Genjutsu. Illusions meant to trick the enemy. You need to make them believable and fine tune every detail in them." Walking away from the girl Kakashi looked around before heading off after Naruko. As he tried to catch up to her, he was suddenly stopped by a barrage of ninja tools.

"Ah, the last Uchiha, how good of you to start taking part in the test. What subject should we start with?" In a mocking tone Kakashi drew the teen out from behind a tree. The clearing they were in gave both of them plenty of space. Suddenly the younger male moved in and closed the distance, throwing a punch at the same time as his other hand reached out to grab at the Jonin's vest. Sighing Kakashi continued, "Taijutsu again? Naruko didn't beat me, so I doubt you will. Isn't she the only one who could beat you back in the Academy? I mean she put you on your ass at least once a week after your brother went psycho on your clan." Again Kakashi was trying to push buttons. Sasuke's file had been almost as big as Naruko's when it came to disturbances. A large part of his file had all been from after the Massacre until about 2 years later. Each time Naruko had provoked the Uchiha and beat him down until he stopped. Kakashi had guessed it had been some kind of desensitization therapy the blond had been attempting, and it worked. Even with Kakashi bringing it up, the team's male Genin barely reacted, only continuing on with his assault by bringing a downward kick towards his sensei's head. So far not one of the boy's attacks had landed, each being blocked by the older male.

Pushing the Uchiha away, Kakashi disengaged the teen and kept himself ready for Sasuke to attack again. Sasuke watched the man, waiting for any sign that the Jonin was going to retaliate. To his only male student's irritation, Kakashi just pulled out his book and opened it to his last stopping point. The lack of concern displayed by the war veteran did irritate Sasuke, and Kakashi could tell. "So, you pissed off Naruko? I could feel her killing intent from the edge of the training grounds. Let me guess, you said something about Kushina-san, and she freaked out. I made that mistake once, back when we just started living in the compound together, honestly the only time I was more afraid to die than the night of the Uchiha Massacre. I can't even remember what I said, hit my head a few too many times."

Kakashi paid no attention to the Uchiha and his story, and only responded to it with a quick, "Eh." Sasuke had to say, he had never hated being ignored before. He had wished more people would have done it, he wasn't that special just because he was an Uchiha, but this was different for him. Kakashi was doing more than ignoring him, he was saying that Sasuke wasn't even worth his time. That was what rubbed the teen the wrong way. And that was why he angrily flipped through the three hand signs for his Katon: Gokakyu no Jutsu. Suddenly a large part of the clearing was filled with fire, being expelled from Sasuke in the direction of his new teacher. 'Ah, good size and power. But it is a little slow.'

Kakashi disappeared before being hit by the fireball, causing Sasuke to look around when he noticed that the Jonin had gotten away. "Lesson three: Ninjutsu. Use of chakra for a wide variety of techniques, usually destructive. In your case, you need to worry about mastering the basics before moving on to high powered skills." Sasuke continued to look around the clearing, trying to find the silver haired pain in his side. "Now, when you lose track of your opponent you need to find them. What happens though when they aren't in front, behind, on your sides, or above you?" Suddenly a hand grabbed Sasuke by the ankle, "Then the enemy must be under you. Doton: Shinju Zanshu no Jutsu!" With this the Uchiha teen was pulled downward, underground, leaving only his head exposed. He was completely trapped, incapable of moving anything more than his neck. "You just stay there for now Sasuke. I will come get you after the test." Kakashi turned on his heels and walked away. 'I wonder if Sakura has woken up yet. And where is Naruko?' After turning behind a tree Kakashi used the shunshin to go back to the main entrance to the training grounds, in order to restart his hunt.

Just behind him Sasuke heard a rustling in the bushes, but unable to turn around in his earthen prison he could not tell what was approaching until he heard the voice of his pink haired teammate. All she got out was his name in a horrified voice before she shrieked and her body hit the ground, passed out. About a minute later there was more rustling as Naruko jumped down from a tree branch and took everything in, laughing as soon as she saw her pseudo-brother. "Ahahaha, you look so stupid down there teme. What did he do to you, just bury you or did he use a Doton technique to pull you under?" A second wave of laughter hit the blonde.

"You really shouldn't be getting distracted Namikaze-san." Kakashi had heard Sakura's scream and gone to look for her, keeping out of site when he noticed Naruko rushing to the spot as well. He spoke up again, drawing his students to look up into the trees where he was sitting on a branch, his orange book in hand and open. "Last I checked you three were in the middle of a test, with about an hour left." With a purposely sloppy roll, Kakashi left his perch and landed in front of the two conscious Genin. "You also don't know if I trapped the area." It was the blond girl's turn to feel a hand on her ankle before being pulled underground as well. "See, never get distracted." Naruko yelled in frustration, causing Sakura to wake up, before collapsing into nothing but water. 'More Mizu Bunshin?'

Naruko had been hesitant to approach the clearing without some kind of back up plan, so before leaving the cover of the trees she created four Mizu Bunshin and sent one of them in her place. This had been a good choice on her part since it gave her the chance to trick her teacher. Dispelling the captured clone, two of the other three Bunshin stepped forward while the third was hidden overhead, waiting for the perfect chance to strike. All of Naruko's bunshin had a small connection to Yoko's chakra, which the two sisters had used to develop a special clone skill that was part of Naruko's current plan.

Following after the two clones on the ground Naruko entered the clearing as well, clapping as she did. "That was super awesome Kaka-sensei. I would never have thought you were using a clone to trap someone." Once she had the Jonin's attention she laughed as she looked at Sasuke again. "That is still funny teme, especially now that I avoided the same jutsu." The real Kakashi put his book away now, ready to lecture his most unruly student before he heard the rustle of clothes over head and felt an additional weight added to his.

The third clone grabbed hold of him perfectly, he didn't even think to try and escape. It leaned in and spoke softly into his ear, "You know sensei, there are so many uses for clones it is overwhelming. However there aren't many for Mizu Bunshin." One of the other clones came forward and grabbed one of his arms before smiling and continuing the taunting. "But I heard about a style of nature release called Futton. And I really wanted to find a way to use it with clones, sadly it is more of a kekkai genkai than just something I can do."

Finally the original Naruko stepped up and finished the explanation. "With a little help from someone else I was able to find an alternative, which is really good since gas is too unpredictable. My Mizu Bunshin have just the right amount of fire chakra in them to turn them from normal water to scalding hot." At this Kakashi cursed himself for not realizing just how warm the clones did feel against his body. "Thanks to Kaa-san I also heard about a special clone that can detonate like an exploding tag, which helped out a lot as I could never get the bunshin to achieve my goal before trying that as well." The heiress to the Uzumaki clan stepped closer once before locking sad eyes on her teacher. "I'm sorry sensei, I don't know how bad this is gonna be."

Retreating to the shadows the real Naruko yelled back to her clones, "let it rip girls." The first clone that had grabbed Kakashi sighed a bit before whispering in his ear. "Suiton: Netto Shodoku Mizu Bunshin Daibakuha."** The three clones broke apart into a geyser of scalding water, covering the entire clearing.

Having never seen or heard of Naruko's attack before Sakura had failed to flee or rescue Sasuke from his hole. Her inaction was instantly regretted as she felt the scalding water wash over her, bringing hot pain to her skin. Kakashi had been willing to take the attack, Naruko's planning had been perfect, and it was an interesting idea for the usually underused Mizu Bunshin. His feelings were revoked though when he heard both Sasuke and Sakura in pain from the attack.

After the water cleared the last Hatake took both of his present genin to the entrance of the training grounds before returning and grabbing a startled Naruko. Once he had the blond girl with the rest of her team he proceeded to tie her to one of the training posts. His entire being was radiating anger at her irresponsible actions. "Namikaze Naruko, you willingly left your teammates in a situation where they were hurt by your jutsu. Any shinobi who is willing to do that does not deserve to wear a hitai-ate." Kakashi still had the look of raw anger in his one eye, and his posture was tense. "You all fail this test, but due to Naruko's actions she will be the only one returning to the Academy."

"Kakashi-sensei, you can't do that!" Sakura got to her feet and drew her teacher's attention to her. "Naruko was the only one who was even able to hit you. If anyone should be going back to the Academy it is me. I didn't even get to raise a kunai against you."

"Sakura, it is okay. He is right. I should have made sure you got away first." Naruko looked at the pinkette as she undid her bindings, and stood up. Taking two steps away from them she turned around and dropped to her knees, prostrating herself to her teammates. "I really am sorry. I never expected the clones to blow up like that." Getting back on her feet she looked at her teacher. "One more hour? I want them to pass properly at least. And I will help them."

Suddenly thrown off by the sudden demand Kakashi nodded. "Okay. We will take a lunch break though. During the break you will be tied to the post and go hungry. After that, you get one hour. At the end of the hour you both pass whether you get the bells or no." Kakashi looked at his Genin, ready to leave after tying up Naruko. "And if anybody feeds her, you all fail." Right as he said this the blond girl in question's stomach rumbled loudly, causing a blush to heat up her face.

After the Genin received their food Kakashi left, hiding away in the bushes. Again Naruko's stomach growled, trying to cover her embarrassment she laughed a bit, "Sorry. About all of this." Resting her head back a bit she watched the cloudless sky overhead. "Sakura, were you going to..." Naruko was cut off as for a third time her stomach made it's emptiness known. Continuing with her previous thought, the blond Genin met the eyes of her pink haired teammate. "Were you going to try and trap him in a genjutsu?"

Sakura nodded, chewing on a bite of her lunch. She had not eaten very much of her bento, trying to keep up with some new diet she was obsessed with. "What about you teme?" The blond looked at the Uchiha next, waiting for an answer. "Were you planning to use ninjutsu?" Sasuke nodded his head as he took another bite of his lunch. "And I tried some ninjutsu as well as some taijutsu. But there is something about this test that feels like a lie."

"What do you mean Naruko?" Sasuke put his box in his lap and looked at her. He hadn't seen anything to make him second guess the test so far, so he was reluctant to agree with his blond housemate. Naruko then went on to explain that it seemed like it had obviously been impossible to win one-on-one against the lone Hatake. She also brought up how easy it had been for Sakura to shoot down her idea of working together just because the test would result in someone going back to the Academy. Every now and then as she talked Naruko's stomach would rumble louder than before. "So you think that we should try working together?"

The Namikaze girl just nodded at her live in teammate. "Especially since you two will pass whether we succeed or not." With one more annoying rumble of her neglected belly Naruko began to work on the ropes keeping her tied to the post, easily cutting her way out of them with one of her hidden kunai. "You think Kakashi-sensei will know if I run to get a quick bite?"

"Of course he will baka." Sakura said looking at the either fearless or braindead blond. "And where did you pull that kunai from, I thought Kakashi-sensei took all your tools when he tied you up?" Leaning in innocently Naruko whispered the knife's previous hiding spot to the pinkette and grinned as Sakura looked at her with impressed shock. "So now what, sensei said you had to be tied to the post for the break. He is going to be pissed if you aren't." Sakura had looked away from the blond as she had said that, not noticing the Namikaze heir stroll over to the pinkette's bento and eat the rest of it.

"Then I am going to make him very angry." Looking between her two teammates she smiled, a grain of rice on her left cheek, and noticed their slightly confused expressions. "I will be his main focus, keeping him distracted and angry. You two will do what you can to get those damn bells," she broke her plan down a bit more while laying back as she finished. "Then once we are done, I'll give him my hitai-ate and you two will pass."

"Wait, you honestly plan to just let him kick you back to the Academy?" Sakura spoke up first, having thought that the blond was going to try and prevent it. "No one from our entire class was as excited to become a Genin as you were."

"True, and I still want to be a ninja, but I never should have put my teammates in harm's way." Naruko continued to lay in the same spot looking up at the two other Genin. "Besides, it will be fun to mess with Iruka-sensei when the class has no idea what to watch out for." A mischievous smile spread across her face as she already began to make plans.

"Oh shut up blondie." Now it was Sasuke's turn to fight the issue. "It was just hot water. Sakura and I can deal with that, especially her. The showers she takes are a lot hotter than your poor excuse for fire nature chakra." Picking her up by the front of her jacket, Sasuke pulled her to her feet and locked eyes with her. "If you go back then so do I."

Laughing in his face, the blonde pressed her forehead to his. "Look teme, let me just accept it. If you try and follow me back I will put you in a full body cast." In an instant she had her fist ready to make contact with the black haired teen. She leaned in instead, allowing her to keep her next thoughts between the two of them. "I know you've seen those fake ANBU guys watching the compound, you were the first in the house to see them even if it was by luck. They were probably watching me for suspicious behavior. Going back to the Academy will help us learn who they are watching." Pulling back away from the Uchiha heir Naruko looked at him before giving words to her next thought. "Wait, how do you know how hot Sakura likes the water when she showers?" Giving it only a second of thought she began to freak out. "Oh Kami! What the hell teme, really? You two better not have done it in the compound shower! I will never get that clean enough. We'll have to tear it all out."

Kakashi watched from the bushes for the entire break. 'Well she does seem to actually regret it. And the other two are more than willing to help her keep her place or give up theirs as well. Let's see what happens this next hour.' As he continued to watch he started to second guess his earlier assessment. Seeing the building tension in his late sensei's daughter Kakashi decided to take action and begin the next part. "Enough fighting, just get ready. Lunch is over. Oh and please remember, come at me with the intent to kill, because now I will be doing the same... Wait, why are you already free Naruko? Did you disobey an order from your sensei?"

"Mah mah, you've already decided that I fail. And that means I'm not your student, so I don't have to listen to someone who isn't my sensei. Besides, old men like you are always complaining about people being on your lawn or kids making too much noise." Naruko was playing completely to her role, get him angry and then keep his attention. "Hey Kakashi, what is your opinion on dating Academy girls? Wait, why am I asking? You're bound to be okay with it. I mean all you do is read that orange book of yours. It's not even one of the better Icha Icha series."

'I am going to enjoy this a lot more now.' Cracking his knuckles and tilting his head to the side, stretching his neck, Kakashi stepped closer to the three Genin. "Now, who is going to go first?" The silver haired man's answer came in the form of Naruko stepping up and pulling out her sealing scroll, freeing her sword and propping it onto her shoulder. "You again bleach-blond?" The other Genin bolted off into the safety of the trees, getting ready to spring their assaults on the silver haired man or back up their blond friend if she needed it.

"Hey, asshat, this is all natural!" In a burst of speed she left her team's field of vision, to reappear behind and to the left of her sensei, with about ten feet between them, while sliding to a stop. Ready to throw her large blade, Naruko confirmed her friends were clear of the area before beginning to throwing the sword in Zabuza's Hisenken technique. Though Naruko's copy of the Kubikiribocho was not as large, it was still a dangerous weapon, especially after having studied the scrolls her first teacher had given her. Right as she began the throw, Kakashi once again got around to her back in a squatting pose and struck, his hands together in what looked like the tiger hand sign and calling out his attacks name of Sennen Goroshi.

Naruko stood there, sword still in her hand as she noticed what was happening. Then she was suddenly airborne and flying into the tree branches. The attack had forced her to let go of her sword, leaving it stuck into the ground. Dropping from the tree branches the blonde landed on her already sore rear. "OOOOOWWWW!" Glaring at the Jonin she puffed up her cheeks like a child. "What are you going to do if I can't get married now?"

"Absolutely nothing." Kakashi's only visible eye gave nothing away as he reached out for Naruko's blade. When he went to pull it free the weight of the sword kept him from doing so completely, only freeing up about an inch.

Smirking with a mix of stupidity and mischievousness Naruko taunted the man, "Can't get it up Hatake? That's okay, most old men can't." Getting back to her feet she patted her backside, wincing a bit as she did, before making a dash to the blade. As she got to it she struck out with a kick that Kakashi blocked with his arms crossed in front of him, pushing him back, as she grabbed onto the hilt, pulling the large sword free. "Well I guess it would be easier without this." Pulling on the end of her scroll to reveal the seals inside, she returned the blade to it's hiding place. "You okay silver hair?"

"Never better." The voice came from behind her, completely opposite of where she had kicked him. With a quick rush of hand signs, and a name going unheard by the the blond, Kakashi put her under a genjutsu. "You know, she is right. This whole test is about teamwork." With this the other two recent Academy graduates returned to the field, side by side. "Honestly, with how bad you three have been doing, all of you should go back."

"Um, Sensei, is Naruko going to be alright?" Sakura asked a bit reluctantly. "And what if she breaks out of that genjutsu while you are explaining all of this?" The pink haired graduate asked as she stood next to what only she knew was a fake Sasuke. "She might just lash out at you, thinking we are still being tested."

"You know her skills better than I do Sakura, she has no ability with genjutsu at all." As he responded he looked at the two Genin and gave them one of his eye-smiles. "I'm also not going to send anyone back. What she did does deserve to be punished but she has made up for it by trying to be a good teammate and through the demonstration of her skill. Plus she would probably demand to take the graduation test early and just get sent back to us anyway."

"Good to know you think so highly of my obvious skill Kaka-sensei." Turning around to face the girl, who should have been out of commission from his last jutsu, he saw the real Sasuke standing next to her with a hand on her right shoulder and the other in the one handed release sign. This sight caused him to turn back around to Sakura who dispelled her copy of the black haired teen. Naruko and Sasuke walked around to their teacher's front, Sasuke in sullen silence and Naruko with a big grin on her face as she rested her hands behind her back. "Since it seems we all passed now, can we call it quits? I have a bathroom to disinfect and achy muscles to heat."

"...Yeah sure. Just report back here tomorrow at the same time. I am going to train you all into the ground, for the next week, before we do even one mission." With a dismissive wave of his hand the Jonin used a shunshin and disappeared from sight.

 **In the Hokage's** **Office**

All of the adults where standing there watching the events play out in the crystal ball. "It looks like all of the clan heirs have passed. Any comments on anything we have seen here today?" The aged Hokage looked around the room waiting. Kushina was standing there with her eyes closed after the ball had lost its image, hoping no one would bring up Naruko's frequent cursing.

"Well it seems the Namikaze girl has a very... expressive vocabulary." It was Hiashi who spoke up first, instantly making Kushina begin crying pitifully. "They are all promising young Genin though." A few of the other clan heads agreed with the stern faced Hyuuga on both matters, though not many voiced the earlier opinion.

Only Tsume was willing to speak up about Naruko as well. "You got that right pale eyes. That girl can swear with the best of them." Instantly the Inuzuka woman began to laugh and spoke directly to Kushina next. "You were not kidding when you said Kiba wouldn't be able to survive being married to her."

"There is nothing I can do about it. I tried everything, including washing her mouth out with soap." The red head's tears continued to flow. "Yamanaka-san, could you go around in her head and fix it for me? I will pay you." Her desperate plea for help was on the comical side causing the village's ninken specialist to laugh more.

"No way Kushina, the last time I was in your daughter's mind I had permission but still got kicked out by that Yoko girl. No amount of money is worth making that spitfire angry." Yamanaka Inoichi would never say he was a cowardly man but the thought of making the kitsune girl angry was enough to make him rethink that. The time he was talking about happened shortly after Naruko and Kushina had returned to the village. Naruko was still 8 years old and Inoichi had been asked by both the Uzumaki head and the Hokage to do the inspection of the girl's mind. Both wanted to know exactly what Yoko was and hoped that the blond male could help them figure it out. At first it had gone well, he had permission from both Naruko and Yoko to enter the girl's mind, though Yoko's permission had to come through Naruko. When he had found the door to Yoko's room he opened it not expecting anything to occur, and accidentally walked in on her as she was trying to change into clothes for the meeting. As soon as she noticed the clan head she turned on him and forcefully ejected him from the room, throwing things after him and yelling about rudeness and never walking in on a maiden as she is changing.

After his interrogation of the mixed chakra girl Inoichi had cleared her of being any kind of threat and even said she was very well mannered despite his first run in with her. As it was a matter of importance to the village yet still a matter of privacy as well the shinobi half of the council, not counting the elder three, had all been present and informed about the existence of Yoko. All those present had been sworn to secrecy on the matter as it could be used against the Yondaime's daughter in some way.

"I am sure Yoko has forgotten all about that, she is such a sweet girl that there is no way she could be mad still." Kushina was looking him in the eyes, hoping to force the blond man to buckle to her request. "You also said it yourself, she is completely different from the Kyuubi and could be trusted."

"No means no Kushina-san. Please do not keep pushing this." With a pout from the woman she agreed, her mood still not happy. "Thank you."

"I have one thing I would like to know about." It was Nara Shikaku who spoke up. "When Naruko was talking to the Uchiha heir she said something about fake ANBU. What did she mean?" Everyone looked at the man wondering how he knew what was said as there had been no audible sound at that part. "I read her lips, I am sure Hokage-sama did as well."

"I did Shikaku, and I am curious about it as well." The man replied, once again looking at the Uzumaki woman.

"It is something that we have noticed for the past couple months. Sasuke brought it up to me and Naruko one day, saying that he had been seeing ANBU with colorless masks. He never saw them for very long, usually right as they were disappearing in a shunshin." Kushina reached into one of her hidden pockets and pulled out a scroll, unsealing the contents onto the desk. Out of the cloud of smoke fell four ANBU masks, just as the red head had explained them, with no easily noticeable marking except a single kanji for the word 'root' under one of the eyes.

"Naruko was the one who collected these. She said she had chased them all done on different occasions, but when she approached them they resorted to violence immediately. The only reason she got the masks was because she eliminated them. When she came to get me the first time so I could bring the body here we found it was gone with no trace left. The second time she stayed around and found out that it was some kind of delayed Katon just for self immolation that didn't produce heat, just devoured everything organic." Handing the scroll over to the Hokage, Kushina relaxed a bit as well. " I was going to bring this up after the meeting today. But we haven't noticed any of them since Naruko collected the fourth mask about two weeks ago."

"This is very disturbing indeed. These masks belong to the ANBU group run by Danzo. They are only loyal to him, and because of this they were disbanded by the Yondaime's order." Fearing what the war hawk might have been planning Sarutobi had decided he would have a small group of his own ANBU guarding the Uzumaki estate until everything could be taken care of. "Well for now, we will keep this secret as well and look into the matter. You may all go home now. Have a pleasant evening everyone." With a polite farewell all the gathered clan heads exited the room to return home and celebrate with their families over the passing of the generation.

Chapter End

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Non-canon Jutsu: I used Google translate for the names, so please do not blame me if I offend you with my lack of Japanese language skills.

Hidora Nesuto: It translates roughly to Hydra Nest. Based off of the greek myth of a monstrous serpent who if one head was cut more would grow in the first's place. Most myths say when one head is removed two grow back, but some myths say the hydra has three or even six heads.

Netto Shodoku Mizu Bunshin Daibakuha: This is a Mizu Bunshin version of Itachi's exploding Shadow clones, but uses scalding water instead of an explosion. The name translates to something along the lines of Scalding Water Clone great explosion.

Thank you for reading everybody, I hope you liked this chapter. As always feel free to comment or PM me.


	8. Chapter 8

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

I am going to have two unimportant OC's in this chapter. They are only being mentioned in this chapter for now. For name translations check notes at the end of the chapter.

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Chapter 4: Kushina

A few weeks after the teamwork tests, the residents of the Uzumaki compound were walking along the streets of Konoha together. "Kaa-san why are we heading to the Hokage Tower?" Naruko was grumpily trudging behind her mother, hunched over with her arms swinging with each step she took, as they walked through the village. Both of the teens were dressed in more formal attire. Naruko was in a kimono of earthy colors and had the Uzumaki clan spiral on the back of the obi. Sasuke was wearing the traditional Uchiha colors with his clan's fan symbol on the back. Kushina was not dressed as formally as the younger members of her household, instead wearing a very modest, light maroon, dress with the Uzumaki spiral over her heart. "And why do we have to be dressed up so much? I feel like I'm about to become Hinata's new stepmom in this, and that would be really awkward for us."

"I've already told you Naru dear. We are going to a council meeting concerning the next heads of the clans. That is why you and Sasuke are both coming along." Kushina explained for what must have been the tenth time that morning, trying to hide her irritation. This meeting was meant to give the next generation of clan heads a taste of what the council normally did. A meeting like this was only called when new members of the civilian council had taken over vacant seats, and allowed for the new members to meet all the people they may have to work with in the near future.

"Well then why couldn't I wear civies? It's not like I would bring any of my ninja gear with me." Naruko said, continuing the fuss she had been making all morning. "But wearing my training clothes would have been even better. For someone who is always late, Kakashi-sensei hates it when we keep him waiting."

"You say you wouldn't have brought any of your ninja gear if you got to wear civilian clothes, but you still tried to do so just this morning. As for Kakashi, he knows about this meeting already and was instructed, by the Hokage, to cancel training and missions for the day." Kushina looked at her daughter with a 'try to worm your way out of this now' look as they got to the doors of the tower.

"I only wanted to bring my sealing scroll," as Naruko tried to defend her earlier behavior the scroll in question slipped out of her sleeve. "Um, that isn't what it looks like. It's just for a change of clothes." Carefully the blonde bent her knees to pick up her dropped scroll and tucked it down the front of her kimono, between her breasts. "Plus, it's too late now for us to go all the way back home and put it away."

Her right eye twitching as she slowly ground out between clenched lips, the red haired head of the Uzumaki clan spoke with a false calm. "Just get in there before I decide to burn all your cup ramen when we get home." Opening the door with more force than necessary she jabbed her arm in a pointing manner into the building. "Have I made myself clear Naruko?"

Taking the threat to heart the blonde hurried inside and to the front desk, her black haired teammate following after her with a smirk on his face. "I told you it would fall out of your sleeves blondie." A short lived, whispered, argument broke out between the two and ended when Naruko randomly help up Sasuke's pouch of ninja tools. "What the? How did you get my pouch?"

"Never piss off a girl who can hide from angry ANBU, because you will not see her coming for you." Handing it back to him she leaned in a bit more. "Next time, don't hide it up your pant leg, that was the first place I thought of." Quietly tucking a pilfered kunai into a carefully designed pocket on the inside of her left sleeve, Naruko greeted the receptionist and informed her that the Uzumaki and Uchiha representatives where present.

Once the three ninja arrived at the meeting room they all stepped inside, seeing everyone already present and just about to sit down. The meeting room hadn't been changed at all since Kushina's last attendance. Not even extra chairs were brought in for the future heirs, as they were to stand behind their current clan head. The Uchiha seat was left empty, but Sasuke still stood behind it. Hiashi was present with his younger daughter Hanabi. Tsume had brought her eldest child Hana with her. Shikamaru and Shikaku were in the Nara clan spot, both already yawning and losing focus. Inoichi and his daughter were to the Nara family's right, while Choji and his father were to the left of the perpetually bored clan. Both of the Aburame clan's reps sat quietly waiting for the meeting to begin.

Looking around the room, there wasn't a face that Naruko did not recognize, except for the three elders and one younger man, but she was more worried about if Kushina had her get overly dressed for this. Both representatives from the Hyuuga clan, Sasuke, Ino, and herself where the only members of the ninja portion of the council dressed up as they were. The Nara and Akimichi clan members where still dressed up, but in more of a casual/formal, similar to Kushina. The Inuzuka members could never really be expected to dress formally to any degree, but they were still dressed presentably. For the two Aburame men, their large coats where needed to help keep their Kikaichu contained as the garments offered extra room for the bugs.

The Hokage politely called the meeting to order. "Now, first I would like to welcome the children of the clan heads. You are here for two reasons today. The council feels it is important that every one of you know what we do before you take your place as the representatives for your clans." Taking his hat off and putting it on the table Sarutobi took a breath before going on. "The other reason you are here is so new members to the civilian council can meet all of you." With this Kushina looked around the table for the new men or women to the council. She stopped when she noticed an older man, he was somewhere around his late fifties or early sixties. Looking around the table again the red haired Uzumaki woman found another new face. This one belonged to a man, younger than the first, somewhere between mid twenties and mid thirties.

"First we have a respected member of the village's merchant guild, Suzuki Akihiro." The older man stood at this introduction and bowed as much as his round stomach allowed. He did seem to live up to his name, or at least parts of it. Looking at the man was like looking at a large round bell, and with his no doubt expensive robes he appeared to be someone of glorious standing. His hair was mostly gone leaving only the sides and back with thinning grey hair.

"Thank you Lord Hokage. It is a pleasure for me to be here on the council." Again the fat man bowed as much as he could before taking his seat once again. He exhaled in an exhausted manner as he looked at the present members of the ninja council. Pulling out a handkerchief from one of his robe sleeves he patted his forehead gently.

"Our second newcomer is Nakagawa Takao, who comes to us from the Capital city of our country by request of the Daimyo himself. He was sent here by the Daimyo to act as a record keeper." Hiruzen allowed Homura to introduce this man. He had grown used to all of his former teammates trying to gain any extra ground they can with the Daimyo over the years. "The Fire Daimyo has grown concerned that important information may be purposefully omitted from our reports to him." With the end of this introduction Naruko snorted softly, already able to tell that the elder was trying to suck up, before Kushina lightly smacked her arm.

"As Akihiro-sama has said, it is a pleasure for me to be granted allowance into the council." With his own bow, which was much more proper and unobstructed, the younger man greeted the present council and returned to his seat. Unknown to any of those in the meeting room, other than Danzo, this polite young man was actually one of the war hawk's many ROOT ANBU who had used fake documents to earn his seat. He was under orders from his heavily bandaged leader to seduce either one of the Uzumaki clan women.

"I believe that now would be a perfect time to introduce our future clan heads to everyone here." The aged Hokage looked to both of his sides, which had half of the ninja clans on each side. "Let us start with the Uzumaki clan." Moving his right arm, in a waving motion to the redhead and her daughter, he nodded. "The Uzumaki clan is currently only made of two members, Uzumaki Kushina and her daughter Namikaze Naruko." At each of their names the two women bowed politely.

'So that blond girl is the one that the elders want me to try and marry? Shouldn't be too hard, I bet she is just a ninja for the money." Suzuki Akihiro, while a true member of the village's merchant guild, had only been allowed onto the council by the elders as a way to manipulate last meeting's topic of expanding the Uzumaki population through marriage.

Sarutobi Hiruzen continued to go down the line of clans, stopping at the empty Senju seat to silently grieve the vacancy and ending at the Uchiha seat on his furthest right. "Lastly is the Uchiha clan. There is only one member left of this clan in Konoha, and one traitor out in the world." Sasuke politely bowed, as every other clan heir had done, and allowed himself to return to his memories of the night Itachi became a nuke-nin.

'Hmm, another promising heir to bring into my family. I am sure my daughter could win his heart.' Thinking of his equally rotund daughter, Suzuki Akihiro was sure that the elders would reward his family for reviving the Uchiha clan just as much as they promised to do regarding the Uzumaki. 'I'll worry about the little blond tease first though.' Suzuki looked over at the blond and patted his sweaty forehead with his handkerchief again, his staring eyes not going unnoticed by any ninja in the room.

The meeting continued as a normal one would, starting with old issues that had gone unresolved during the previous gathering. Thankfully to the bored Namikaze teen there was nothing that needed to be brought back up, saving her at least an hour of her day. 'I hope sensei doesn't forget what he said about teaching me a new clone jutsu. My mizu bunshin are great but only pack about 1/10th of my strength.' Next came new matters; genin teams wanting to be reassigned new training grounds due to lack of certain resources, vendors wanting to expand their stalls or store buildings, Academy instructors wanting to change the course curriculum, and so on. Every little thing except civil disagreements like who owned a certain patch of land or things of a similar legal nature found their way into the meeting.

'What should we do for dinner? Naruko will beg for ramen, no doubt, and Sasuke will probably just go off somewhere to sulk for a bit since his family was brought up.' Kushina was sitting with her back straight and her hands in her lap. She was also keeping an eye on the older of the new council members, counting just how many times his eyes went towards her daughter. After all of the new business was finished with the council was allowed to bring their own matters to the table for discussion.

Hyuuga Hiashi requested for an expansion to his clan's compound. It turned out that a member of one of the branch families had wanted to put together his own residence for him and his new bride. The older of the two Nara's requested permission to bring in about ten deer from Lightning Country, five males and five females. One of the civilian members brought up that her business's plumbing was starting to have issues and wanted to have it checked on. All of the requests were fair and easily acceptable requests, until Akihiro put in his request of marriage to Naruko. Everyone looked around hesitantly at first, the elders knowing what was going on. After scanning the room most of the clan members looked to the blond in question. Her response time was completely shot, her eyes blinked independently of each other and in a voice (much like a currently unknown Mokuton using ANBU's) she spoke up. "No thanks. I'm not a fan of the idea of rolling my significant other home."

Quickly angered by the blond's dismissal and comment Akihiro retorted. "So the daughter of a whore thinks she is too good to..."

THUNK! The sound was of a kunai hitting wood, forcing the man to stop mid sentence gulping loudly in fear.

As soon as the words were out of his mouth Naruko had thrown the kunai she had taken from Sasuke's ninja tools. The knife was now buried in the wood of the table, which was the only thing that had kept the merchant from losing his manhood. No one had even seen her arm move, except for the Hokage and Uchiha. "You say anything like that about my Kaa-san again and I will..." Naruko was suddenly bent forward, her head connecting with the table, as Kushina hit her on the back of the head.

Regaining some of his unearned bravado the new council member spoke up again, this time the insult only focusing on the now injured girl. "Stupid blond bit..." Again something was thrown at him, but this time the man was stopped when he was actually hit. Naruko was still rubbing her forehead staring at the merchant who was now caught between his own chair and the one that the red headed Uzumaki woman had occupied just before. Patting her hands together Kushina looked over at the man and only huffed before leaving the council room. Taking that as her cue to leave Naruko bowed to the Hokage, and gathered clan heads and heirs, before leaving as well.

Hiruzen shook his head and ran a hand over his balding head. "Suzuki-san, you are no longer welcome among the village council." With a wave of his hand the Hokage dismissed the merchant. "Everyone else is free to leave. Our meeting is over for today."

True to her earlier assumption Kushina was left to return home, her daughter in tow and shy one Uchiha, with Naruko whining about ramen. By this point the day was mostly gone thanks to the council meeting, the time being about 4 in the evening judging by the positions of the shadows. "Can we get home first, before trying to demand your next meal?" As the two Uzumaki's approached their, oversized for three people, home they noticed that one of the side doors from the garden into the main house was opened.

Carefully opening the front door, both kunoichi scanned the entry way taking note of the presence of a pair of wooden geta sandals. Instantly relieved of tension at the sandals belonging to the white haired toad sannin the two continue further in, until they heard a loud thump followed by a grunt in the main room. Proceeding to the room Naruko opens the door from the right side while Kushina takes the left.

In the room they find Jiraiya knocked back on his ass and a strange young man with very orange hair and a slip of seal paper on his forehead also on the ground. Jiraiya was in his usual outfit, while the younger man seemed to be in some kind of prison uniform. Kushina enters further into the room first, and goes to the stranger's side to analyze the seal on his head, finding it to just suppress the large teen's chakra and motor skills just enough to keep him from being a threat. Naruko goes to her godfather and begins to laugh at him before getting hit once in the back of the head.

After sending Naruko away to get both visitors some tea Kushina begins to drill her late husband's teacher for information, starting with the orange haired statue. "I thought your source said there was an Uzumaki in the base you were going to." Kushina knew that Jiraiya had been away to hunt down one of Orochimaru's bases near Kirigakure as part of a united forces mission between local ninjas and himself.

"That was what he said, but when we got their it was just another lab. There had only been two of the Snake's experiments left alive when we got there, some girl with brown hair and this bruiser here." Jiraiya had told Kushina about his upcoming raid on the base because he knew she would want to take in the Uzumaki if there really was one. "When I tried to get in touch with my informant it was too late. It looks like Orochimaru kills his followers in a base if he thinks one is a spy, but my reports say that the young Uzumaki girl isn't one of his test subjects."

Just then Naruko returns, not asking for a game of catch up, having heard most of what was happening. "So who is this guy then?" She asked her only question bluntly. Staring at the new face in her household she blushed a bit when she made eye contact.

"His name is Juugo." Jiraiya answered the blond before saying any more. "He was in my former teammate's base because of some kekkei genkai that changes his physical form, sadly it also messes with his personality. The Snake wanted to make a curse seal of some kind that could do something similar." Taking a sip of his tea Jiraiya let that sink in before continuing. "The seal on his forehead right now keeps him from losing his cool."

"Oh wow, that sounds rough." Naruko stuck her hand out calmly, waiting for him to take it. "My name is Naruko, it is nice to meet you Juugo."

"So what happened to the brown haired girl?" Kushina was hoping that maybe she had been the Uzumaki girl in the base but had that hope crushed by the Toad Summoner's answer.

"She was a girl from outside the Elemental nations. She was taken in by the Kiri medic who was working with me. That was a strong ninja, one of their Seven Swordsmen." At the mention of Kiri's group of kenjutsu masters both Naruko and Kushina stopped, hoping to hear it was the wielder of the Kubikiribocho. "Yeah, he had their Nuibari. He was an outsider too at first, picked up by the previous wielder Kuriarare Kushimaru. They all seem to have a habit of picking up orphans it seems."

With her arm still out waiting for the new comer to shake her hand, Naruko sighed. "I think it is part of their methods. The swords are passed down from one generation to the next, but the sword styles can only be taught by the current wielder." She shrugged as she looked over at the seemingly comatose male. "...Is big and quite here going to be okay?" Naruko had almost no skill with fuinjutsu herself but she did understand how they worked enough to see that the one on her fellow teen was probably a bit too strong.

"It should be." Taking a look at the young man he started to rethink his seal's structure. "Looks like it is more effective than I wanted though." Taking out a set of brushes and ink while going over the current one.

"The seal is taking too much chakra at once. The issue is probably in the fourth array." Kushina wasn't even looking at the two men as she broke it down. She wasn't just an Uzumaki in looks alone, like everyone else from her clan before their almost extinction, she was extremely gifted with seals. She had also been one of the main reasons that Minato had even bothered to learn the complex skill.

Looking at his work in the accused area he nodded, seeing where he had gone wrong now. He began to work, quickly finishing the new seal and putting it on Juugo before removing the first one. The change was immediate, he was much more alert and willing to engage in conversation. His entire focus had been pulled to the Namikaze girl who was barraging him with endless questions about who he was and everything he had gone through.

Shortly after the change in Juugo had occurred the front door to the compound opened again and Sasuke walked into the main room. Greeting the Sannin plainly and with only slight more interest he greeted the orange haired young man. After a brief introduction from the somber Uchiha and a quick dinner all of those present retired to the rear of the house where Naruko and Sasuke had a quick spar, with Juugo watching.

"I know he isn't the Uzumaki I promised to find you, but would you take him in?" Watching them, the sage exhaled slowly. "I will stay until we can find a more permanent seal to fix his condition." Jiraiya waited for a response from the red haired woman.

With a rough exhale Kushina nodded her head. "He can stay, but you better keep looking for the Uzumaki that is supposedly with that filthy snake."

"Get off me blondie!" Looking over at the two genin Kushina found her daughter sitting on the back of a miffed black haired teen. Naruko was laughing with a stupid grin on her face as she patted her teammate's head. Due to a lack of familiarity with such interactions, Juugo walked over behind the two and picked up the girl by the back of her shirt with one hand. The reaction was instant, Naruko turned around as best she could and kicked at him weakly like a child.

"Come on, let me go Juugo. I was just messing with the teme!" Naruko stopped her pointless struggling and looked him in the eyes. "If you don't let me go I am going to have to drop you on your back." Naruko was suddenly dropped back on her feet before thanking the large teen. Driven by pure instinct she stood up on her toes and kissed his cheek lightly. "Thank you."

After a few more hours of relaxing Kushina called the end of the night and showed Juugo to one of the many spare rooms in the compound. Jiraiya had a room in the house as well, where he retired to after trying to give Naruko a failing lesson on fuinjutsu. Naruko chose to get some sleep after taking a relaxing bath. Sasuke excused himself and let Kushina know he was going to spend the night with Sakura. Kushina went to her room a little after Sasuke's departure and prayed to Kami before going to bed herself.

Chapter End

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Name Translations: All First names come from a website called 20,000 names. Any Family name is coming from just a google search for the most common last names in Japan.

Suzuki Akihiro: Starting with what is his family name, Suzuki means bell tree. Suzu is the bell portion which are round bells like on a cat's collar. Akihiro roughly means "large glory". I wanted his name to relate to his appearance, that is why he is a very round/large man who tries to look high and mighty by dressing impressively to show his wealth.

Nakagawa Takao: Nakagawa can roughly mean central river. Takao roughly translates to respectful man/hero.

A/N: I have gotten a lot of people asking me to do this as a yuri pairing, and that may be the end result. If it is the pairing will be with Hinata, partly because it is canon and partly because Hinata has always been my favorite female character. For a male pairing I am still thinking Kakashi but also Juugo. Part of why I like the idea of pairing Naruko with Juugo is that it isn't something I see on here often, if at all, and it also gives me a chance to bring in two of my OC's who are mentioned in this chapter but not named. Those are the two foreigners that are now in Kirigakure. They will not be coming around until the Chunin Exams though.

I'm not too sure how I feel about this chapter. I do like it but I feel like it is too filler like. Despite that though I also feel like it is good to have it here. It lets me explain this world's current condition, like who is trying to do what and everything.


	9. Chapter 9

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

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Chapter 5: Naruko

"All units check in." Kakashi ordered over his headset, sitting on a tree branch as he watched his three genin running around among the trees, trying to catch something unseen from his position.

Sighing in irritation from how he had to respond Sasuke called back, "Foul mood, in position. Target is in sight and in position for ambush." Pressing his back to a tree, hiding himself quickly, Sasuke peeked around and waited for the rest of the team.

"Fan-girl also in position. Confirming subject is the target." Sakura was hidden like Sasuke was but behind her own tree and a bit closer.

"Plucker in position. Trap is ready, waiting to spring." Naruko sighed forgetting to release her head set before expressing her lack of appreciation for the code-name.

"Plucker, mix the clones. I want two water and two shadow. Foul mood, pressure target into the trap. Fan-girl get the binding ready. On my count of three." Kakashi shifted his position so he was on his feet instead of sitting now. "One." Looking at the Namikaze girl as she made her clones. "Two." Sasuke was tensing up to spring forward and Sakura had pulled out the bundle of leather cord. "Three!"

All three of his students went into action perfectly. Naruko's clones sprang up from the sides while Sasuke charged forward. With its quick reflexes the target went airborne, where the real Naruko dropped down on it, catching the target in a large grab. With the target in Naruko's hold Sakura came up and began to tie the leather cord around the neck of their target. "Foul mood confirms target is Tora the cat. Ribbon on the ear and matching stripe pattern."

As Kakashi heard the confirmation he also heard the blond girl of his team swearing loudly and saying something about drowning the target with her Water Prison technique. "Good job Team 7. Leave target unharmed and return to me." Sakura held the makeshift leash as the three teens returned to their sensei's position. Naruko was covered in scratches and dirt. Sasuke was better off, only a few small scratches on his hands and arms. Sakura had been the luckiest, except Kakashi, and was only a little winded from all the running.

"Why do we always get new code names Kaka-sensei? You always choose something annoying too." Naruko vented. She had realized that her teacher's name generation always came from what they were doing when he met with them. Today Naruko had been testing her three stringed instrument after just restringing it. Sasuke had come in with Sakura at his side and for some reason was in just a plain grumpy mood. The two dating team members coming in together meant one thing to Kakashi, that they had spent the night together, so his naming her 'fan-girl' was a pass at Sasuke's clan symbol not her old academy obsession of the dark haired teen.

"Simple. I want to change them." Kakashi responded with not even a second of hesitation. "Let's go turn in this furry monster and see if we can get another mission." Taking out his trusty book as he started walking away the Jonin sensei of Team 7 chose to ignore the irritated faces of his "precious Genin." His students followed after him, half dragging the cat Tora as they went. After about ten minutes they got to the Missions Office and reported their success. Once the Daimyo's wife collected her cat and payed for the team's services the Hokage went down a list of D-rank missions for them to do next.

"We have a few missions available. Walk the Inuzuka clan dogs. Babysitting for a few of the council members." Suddenly the Daimyo's wife could be heard outside the building calling out to her cat who had just escaped again. "Give it another three minutes and their will be another capture Tora mission."

"No way. Those are all boring chores, not missions." Speaking up, Team 7's blonde crossed her arms across her chest as she complained. "We deserve something more challenging, we've been doing D-ranks for two months now." Naruko begged uncrossing her arms and pointing a finger at the head of the village.

"Are you trying to say that you are better than every other team in the village?" The Hokage's tone was gentle but lecturing. "It has been the method used since the founding of the village. All new teams take on D-rank missions until they have acquired skills that allow them to be better suited in tougher missions. Every mission is unique and requires proper care before being distributed to any member of the village. D-rank is our lowest level, and usually consists of as you called them chores. C-ranks are tougher but not by much and usually require the participants to leave the village; such as delivery missions, or escort missions." Looking at the four people in front of him, Sarutobi Hiruzen brought his hands together under his chin. "B-rank missions are usually taken by Chunin and above, they can be anything from gathering intel and spying to elimination of foreign shinobi threats. A-ranks are much tougher, these consist of assassinations and espionage. S-rank missions are high priority and high secrecy missions, and while a lot of them will be missions found in the A-ranking, the targets themselves cause the need for the higher rank."

As the aged leader finished he looked over at the team only to see them all ignoring him as Naruko was talking about her most recent attempts to get Juugo used to the village. Since the day Juugo was moved into the Uzumaki estate Naruko had been the only person to not set him off in one of his rampages. With Jiraiya and Kushina keeping his seals mixed up so he didn't end up getting used to them, his mental breaks were usually short lived and more of just a sudden psychotic outburst than a full slaughter like his stories of what he used to do. Juugo's response any time he was asked why Naruko never set him off was just kept at a shrug of his shoulders.

"So I took Juugo to one of the hot spring baths, something simple and nice to keep him calm, but Kiba came around and..." Naruko was suddenly cut off by Iruka, who was helping in the missions office today, as he yelled at her about listening when her elders are talking to her. The only acknowledgement he got was a weak apology and his own dose of being ignored.

"It is okay Iruka-san, they are young." With a hand on the Chunin's arm, Hiruzen calmed the man and pulled him back into his seat before clearing his throat to regain Team 7's attention. "Kakashi, do you think your team can handle something more challenging at this point in time?" He locked eyes with the silver haired Jonin as he waited for the answer.

"I do Hokage-sama. They have grown a lot lately, both in individual skill and team skills." He then gave a breakdown of what he had been working on with each of his students. "Sakura is currently working on increasing her chakra levels by adding chakra to her strikes, the current result is minimally increased damage. Sasuke is still trying to unlock his sharingan but is working on his genjutsu as well. Naruko is still hopeless when it comes to any part of genjutsu practices but is capable of making hundreds, if not thousands, of Kage Bunshin at a time."

Hiruzen nodded his head with his eyes closed. "And do you think your team is being under utilized in their current mission rank bracket." The masked Jonin nodded. "Then you can have a C-rank mission. It recently came to my desk actually." The Hokage picked up a piece of paper and looked it over to find the right mission label to match it to the right details scroll. "The request is to escort a bridge builder back to his home land in the Land of Waves. Do you accept this mission Hatake Kakashi?"

With mutual agreement from his students Kakashi accepted the mission and took the scroll from Iruka. After a short introduction to a drunken man named Tazuna, Team 7 was set free by their sensei to get ready for the mission. Sakura was to go get any medical supplies they would need. Sasuke was assigned to food and water. Naruko got the short end of the stick and had to put everything into storage scrolls. All three of them also had to pack their own clothes and any other needed items, such as ninja tools and weapons. After an hour of prep time all three were standing in front of the large gates to Konoha waiting for their client and teacher.

All three had also changed into more appropriate travel gear while they completed their tasks. Naruko had changed into normal black shinobi sandals, a pair of black pants that were tucked into the top of the sandals, and a jacket similar to her normal one with orange lining but without the flair of color. On the blond's hips she wore her regular holster with personal sealing scroll inside, as well as the large scroll used to hold the team's equipment and supplies that rested just above her shapely ass. Sasuke was in baggy shorts with several pockets that he was using as extra ninja tool pouches and a sleeveless black shirt with the Uchiha fan on the back. Sakura's outfit didn't look any different than her regular red and white shirt and beige split skirt over black shorts, but she said that these clothes were actually made from a more durable material than her normal clothes.

"Ah, good to see all of my precious Genin are ready for their first big mission." Kakashi walked up to the three teens with his book in hand and a standard issue pack slung onto his shoulders. The bridge builder was also walking with Kakashi, having run into the masked man as he left one of the cheaper liquor stores in Konoha. "Let's use a diamond formation around Tazuna-san. Sakura in front, Naruko on the left, Sasuke on the right, and I will take the rear." The always aloof Hatake put his book away and his hands in his pockets. "Come on everyone, let's get going. It will take us about a week to get to the boat we will be using to get to Wave." With that the four Konoha shinobi got into position and began the long trek.

After traveling for 5 hours, having left the village at noon, the present Jonin of the group called it a day and began to give orders for setting up camp. "Sasuke, you collect fire wood and get a fire going, no Katon. Sakura, I'm going to leave food prep to you." Hearing the pink haired girl about to whine he stopped her with a raised and open hand. "I normally eat ration packs, even when we are in the village. Naruko has not skill at the culinary arts unless cup ramen counts, and that is information from her mother." Looking up at the sky and judging the weather Kakashi looked over to the team's blond and gave her assignment, "Naruko set up the tents and sleeping bags. One bunshin to assist. One tent for you and Sakura, one for Sasuke and I, and Tazuna has already set his up."

In a couple of minutes the group of travelers were sitting around the fire waiting for their food as the last of them could be heard in the background swearing in agitation. "Fucking stupid tents! Why do these things have to be so annoying?" Just as her words left her mouth a strong wind came through the campsite and pulled at the fabric walls of the tent, ripping it from her hands. "MOTHER FUCKER! Sensei, can I please use more than one clone? This is impossible with just two of me." Naruko complained, her voice shifting from anger to an annoying whine.

Kakashi was the only one sitting on a log using it as a makeshift seat, Sasuke and Sakura were siting together on the opposite side of the fire from him. Tazuna was lounging on his left side, bottle of sake in his hand. Angling his head up a bit but not towards his student Kakashi spoke up, "No. You get one clone for this task. Figure out a way to make it work." Returning to the book in his hand, not his usual Icha Icha Paradise but still one of the Icha Icha books, he began to relax as he read the tale of the lonely young widow finding sexual gratification with her new lover. Having become completely absorbed by the book he failed to notice the blonde leave her task in the hands of two clones, the second having been made by the first clone, and come up behind him. He finally noticed when he felt her press her chest into his back and whisper in his ear softly.

"You know sensei, we could share a tent tonight, let moody and pinky share the other." Yoko immediately sent a strong shiver across Naruko's back as she said that. 'What the hell Yoko-nee? I'm just trying to get him to okay an extra clone or two.' Leaning in a bit more and letting her fingers graze his book she spoke up again, "I just need to set up these tents first if you want to do that." Kakashi's single eye looked around the fire. Sasuke and Sakura were still talking, not having noticed the new situation. The bridge builder was currently visiting dreamland with his bottle of sake slowly spilling onto the dirt under him.

'Naruko-nee, that is more than just trying to get your way. I know what you are trying to do, and you should stop before he agrees and it goes to far.' Yoko huffed internally to her sister, only getting silence in reply. 'Fine, but when he agrees you better not complain to me about it.' Returning her focus to herself and her room Yoko sat down and curled into herself for a nap.

Relaxing his body's response to the unexpected stimuli was tougher than he first thought, though it didn't help that she was breathing in his ear and still hanging on him. "No Naruko. You can not use more clones, and that is final." The Jonin closed his book and put it away, knowing that the book had a scene similar to what just happened. The only difference being that in the book the widow was begging her lover to touch her in a certain way, not Naruko's attempt at easier work. 'She probably knows all of the books in the series with Jiraiya being her godfather. That means I won't be able to read around her when she wants something.'

"...Fine, I won't make any more clones." Throwing her hands in the air she turned to the two clones already out and signaled them to make one more clone each. "And I would have done something you could only dream of for you too." Sitting down at the fire with her fellow Genin, the blond Namikaze girl began to talk with the pink haired team member about medicinal plants in the area.

Kakashi woke up the group early the next morning to break down the campsite. Taking this as a chance to work smarter Naruko put the first tent over one of the seals in her large scroll without taking it apart and storing it in the advanced technique. Taking the second tent, which had been her and Sakura's, she sealed this one away as well and rolled up the 4 feet of scroll she had pulled open.

This trend of camping and fire side meals continued for the next three nights. On the morning of the fifth day the group was huddled around a map that showed the path they were going to take to the closest docks, Kakashi dragging his finger along the route. 'Naruko-nee, we shouldn't go that way. I smell two strangers in that direction and a lot of blood too.'

The blond leaned in a bit and looked at the map closer, noticing that there was a village not marked on it that she was very familiar with. Speaking up is easy for the hyperactive teenager. "That way sucks. We will have to spend another two days to go around that. That means at least one more night of sleeping on the ground and no baths." Crossing her arms over her chest she continued, "I know a village that is on the way if we cut through this area here." She then drew her route on the map with one of her fingers going through a forested area on the map. "Half the distance to travel, and real beds, baths, and not camp fire meals."

"I already told you brat, I only had enough money to hire your team for this mission. That means I don't have enough for expenses like hotels." Tazuna said as he stood up. His people depended on him to come back and that was what he was going to do.

"I'm not taking no for an answer old man, and besides, it will be all free after we all help out." Taking the map and folding it up she tucked it away in the inside of her jacket and began to walk in the direction of her desired destination. 'Yoko-nee, we're finally going back. After seven years I hope it hasn't changed too much.' The other four began to follow her, figuring that there was no way to convince the blond off that course of action.

Three hours later the group of five stopped on the outskirts of a town, the overhead sign in front of them reading "Koriyo Village: The Village Bathed in Neon." Taking a deep breath as a smile grew on her face Naruko laughed in joy. "Okay ladies and gentlemen, please hand your hitai-ate and all ninja gear to me so they can be stored away while we are here." Taking off her own forehead protector she opened her small scroll and put it in the seal with all her clothes, doing the same for her team mates after telling them, "They aren't big on shinobi here, some people even try to take the hitai-ate knowing that they can be sold for a lot to collectors." Looking at her sensei after taking his she thought to herself briefly, 'Oh wow, the scar makes him even hotter, at least he wasn't just hiding his eye to look cool.' Kakashi had no plan of opening his eye while he was here, the sharingan would be an even bigger prize to the right people. "Now then, welcome to Koriyo Village, the largest red light district in the Land of Fire, and my former home of five great years." Smile still on her face Naruko began to follow her memorized route to the Golden Garden brothel.

After about ten minutes of walking, all the men in the group getting calls from pretty women along the way, they had arrived. "Ta-da, the Golden Garden. Koriyo's first and best brothel." Looking up at the familiar building and sign she tilted her head. "Hey they changed the paint job, it's gold and green now." Naruko reached a hand out and opened the door shouting out to anyone willing to listen. "Can I speak to Orchid Ayame!?"

Her reply came in the form of someone else coming up to her. "Orchid Ayame retired two years ago. This is my establishment now. What do you want?" The woman in front of Naruko was a slightly older version of the Rose she remembered from her past at the Garden.

"Hello Orchid Junko. It has been a long time. My friends and I are wondering if you could spare two or three rooms, for one night, in exchange for some free labor." Naruko bowed politely as she took in the inside of the building, everything being as she remembered it perfectly. Taking a small step to the side, to allow her team and client entry as well, she stepped on a squeaky floor board and smiled. 'Exactly as I remember.'

"That deal is only for the girls who work here." Junko replied quickly and tersely. It had been a long tradition for the Garden to provide for its working girls, and Junko was not going to change that seeing as she had used it herself.

"I am aware of that Orchid Junko." Opening her scroll and taking out her shamisen Naruko asked her raven haired team mate to hold the instrument before calling up a henge of her 8 year old self and speaking again, in the softer voice belonging to that age. "Poppy Kobayashi Naruko, ready to work," before undoing the disguise. "My friends can all help out too. The pink one is a medic-nin so she could take a look at the Flowers and give a few physicals. Mr. Moody over there is a real tough guy, almost never loses. Looking out front you could probably use some kind of bouncer. The older man in the funny hat is a bridge builder so he and the silver haired one can do some maintenance on the building. And I would obviously play music."

Staring into the serious and honest blue eyes of the former Poppy, Junko had no choice but to agree. "Fine, but only one night. Do you still remember all of our songs cutie?" After receiving a nod Junko lead them all to different spots in the building. Sasuke was just inside the door, Sakura was set up in a spare changing room with a line of patients immediately, Tazuna and Kakashi were lead around to the back and given several tables and chairs to fix before moving on to repairs on the walls and roof. Naruko was taken behind the stage where she started helping the Poppies, Daffodils, and Lotuses get ready. She wasn't going to be on stage until later, when the rest of her group were done with their tasks.

As 6 o'clock rolled around Team 7 and their client gathered in the main entertainment room of the Golden Garden and placed their orders. Naruko took the list of desired dishes to the kitchen and popped over the counter to yell it to the cook. Naruko returned to the table shortly after and sighed. It had been years since she had done so much makeup for other people and her fingers ached lightly from the usage. As she flexed feeling back into her fingers the food was brought out for them, just as the young Namikaze girl's stomach roared to life. Trying to play it off as nothing the blond turned to her companions and asked about their day.

As they ate they all talked about what they did. Sasuke had mostly just stood at the door waiting for something to happen, turning away a few people who were too young to be visiting the Garden. Kakashi had done more repairs on the walls than on tables and other furnishing. Tazuna had been reluctant to work without something alcoholic to drink, and had worked on leveling out the furniture while sipping sake. Sakura had been the busiest of them all, especially as she didn't have any form of physical clone to help her with the work, caring for the Flowers and writing up recommended supplements they could take for whatever ailed them.

"Well that is good. Keeping busy is the best way to avoid the three vices of shinobi. Or at least that is what Ero-sennin always says." The blond picks up her bowl of now noodle-less ramen and sucks the broth down before putting it back on the table with a decent clinking sound. "Well, it is almost show time so I will be right up there for a bit if you need me." With this she pointed to the stage and got onto her feet before going backstage to get ready. 'How is everything looking Yoko-nee? Anything else stand out to you since this morning?'

'No. I haven't noticed anything Naruko-nee. Those two along the original route had remained in a certain spot just inside my range, however when we turned towards Koriyo we eventual left them behind.' Yoko was lounging around in her room, fighting off slight exhaustion. 'What do you think about Junko being the new Orchid? It seems a little weird not having Miss Ayame in charge.'

'Thank Kami, I did not want to fight today. I think so too, it was always Miss Ayame's business.' Getting back stage the blond undressed and redressed in a kimono that was a sharp blue like her eyes and accented with light blue and white details. "I wonder if sensei will like this kimono." Naruko said out loud as she looked herself in the mirror, a mischievous grin spreading on her face as she began to adjust the soft fabric. 'I'm going to take a page from your race's book tonight Yoko-nee.' She undid the obi and adjusted her feminine assets before pulling the kimono closed again, with the shoulders falling off. Looking at the mirror again Naruko smiled and nodded. 'Just like all that folklore about Kitsune.'

Chapter End

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A/N Thank you for reading up till now. Next Chapter is going to be a bit of Naruko's performance and some more stuff, before ending right when Zabuza makes his first appearance.

To the reviewer naruita14: I am glad you like my story. I had to run your review through google to know what it meant, but knowing that my story had a reader who called it beautiful (especially in French) was an incredible feeling for me. Thank you.

To constant reviewer kaylafike500: Thank you for your reviews and PM's. It has been great to have someone to talk to about possible directions for this to take. I also feel that I should thank you for your helpful recommendations.


	10. Chapter 10

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

There will be a lemon scene in this chapter, and it will have a heads up at the start.

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Chapter 6: Naruko

Naruko poked her head out from behind the curtains, looking around the room, before getting into position and letting the rest of the Flowers get on stage. Naruko was going to be on stage for roughly an hour and had two other Poppies with her. Both of the young girls had string instruments, one had a shamisen while the other had a guzheng. Naruko was on the front most cushion as she was also going to be singing to the songs that were more than just instrumental. Taking a few breaths to keep herself calm helped the blond as she nodded for the curtains to open for her.

Looking out into the main room Naruko could see that every set of eyes was on her. Seeing everyone's stare gave her the boost in confidence she needed as she began to play. In order to ease herself into the show she was starting off with just instrumental music for the first few songs. As the blond looked out into the room she found her team all watching. Sakura was leaning into her dark haired lover's shoulder, whispering to him as they both watched her with slightly slacked jaws. Tazuna was out right staring at her, his sake saucer hanging limply in his fingers before tipping and falling onto the table. Kakashi was harder to read, his one visible eye was open more than his usual lazy stare. It was Yoko who actually noticed another difference, his heart beat had sped up for only a second before returning to a normal resting beat.

The rest of the room was in the same condition as either Sasuke/Sakura or Tazuna. She had kept on the same kimono but, after adjusting it, the front of the soft fabric was resting just over her air stiffened nipples and it was obvious that she did not have anything underneath. Unlike her first teacher, Naruko's skin was a slightly toasty sun-kissed tone, and currently unblemished by even the tiniest of scars. After asking the two girls that were currently on stage with her for assistance, Naruko had been able to put her hair into a playful and modest set of golden waves.

Immediately after Kakashi's heart beat slowed back down Yoko smelled something. 'Naruko-nee, those two people I smelled back on the road earlier are here.' Right as Yoko passed on her message two men walked into the main room of the Garden and took seats in back, on the opposite wall from Team 7. Both men wearing some type of rebreather/gasmask that only covered the bottom half of their faces, and head guards with vertical spikes that were similar to horns. One had a single spike in the middle of it while the other one had two spikes. While one man was openly wearing a camouflage shirt and plain dull vest over that, the other wore a cloak around his torso with what appeared to be a similar outfit underneath. Naruko couldn't really see their village symbols, if they even wore hitai-ate, from where she was. The only other thing that stood out about them was that each one wore some kind of gauntlet with sharp finger tips. After they took their seats the two began to watch the show, only after the uncloaked man elbowed the other and pointed to the leading blonde.

'Can you hear them saying anything Yoko-nee?' Naruko continued to play her third song, nearing the end of it quicker than she was hoping. The only response the blond got was a pulse of chakra that carried a negative feeling to it. The fact that she hadn't actually vocalized her answer meant that the chakra girl was still trying to sift through the noise of the room. With a quick positive pulse of chakra Yoko began to inform Naruko of what she was hearing.

"Look at that blond Gozu. Those tits are just begging to be played with. I bet we could afford a night with her if we split the cost." The Two-horned man whispered to his companion, leaning in more so he could talk even quieter. The One-horned, now known as Gozu, hit him in the arm once before replying that it would still cost too much and exposing the other man's name to be Meizu.

"Or did you forget? Our target never showed for some reason. That damned bridge builder must have passed by earlier than we planned." Gozu took off his mask before placing an order for a drink, Meizu took his off and ordered a drink and a meal as well. "Maybe he is still waiting to get help from that damned Leaf Village."

"You need to lighten up a bit man. Stop worrying about work and just enjoy sugar-tits up there." Meizu was staring at her hungrily, the look in his eyes spoke more of a lust for inflicting pain than pleasure. "I bet she would scream nice and pretty if we took turns cutting her up a bit as we had our fun." He only took his eyes off her in order to accept his food and drink, which is right around when Naruko was finishing her fifth song before moving onto singing as well as playing. "What was that bridge builder's name anyway? Tazami or something like that right?"

"No you idiot. Tazuna, he is a big deal back in Land of Waves right now and that short rat-fuck Gato wants him dead quick." Gozu took his drink and drained it in one go, not putting the glass down till it was empty. "Maybe boss Z would forgive our failure if we brought him that blond you keep eyeing up like a cut of meat, brother."

"Oh she is more than just meat brother, she is a fine cut of meat." With a disturbing chuckle after that statement Meizu looked back at her and laughed lightly to himself some more.

Naruko signaled for the other two girls on stage to move up a bit more before telling them what song to play next. As soon as the song started she began to sing. Her voice floating lightly in the air at first before picking up more, letting everyone in the room hear the words. Her voice was like gentle water, flowing effortlessly over her tongue and past her teeth. The look in Meizu's eyes grew even darker as he told his brother he knew that she would be able to sing for him. Team 7 was now faced with another shock to their perception of the blonde as she had never sung in front of any of them. Tazuna was now finding it hard to balance between staring at her and closing his eyes to absorb the song as much as he could.

Before anyone could tell, the song was done and the next began. Naruko's voice shifted from gentle water to thickly flowing honey and fit to the notes of the song perfectly. Looking out at the room Naruko could see many of the patrons talking to the other Flowers, trying to figure out how to request her private services. Tazuna was even looking through his wallet, counting it up to see if he should try. Sakura was talking Sasuke's ear off secretively before he put a finger to her lips and kissed her, getting her to stop as he whispered into her ear on the hidden side of her head. Kakashi had a slightly far off look in his eye, the half lidded look to it being a lazy eye smile.

'Damn it, I can't make a clone of any kind to tell sensei and everyone else about those guys.' With no current options Naruko continued to play her fingers off as she sang her songs. After she had gotten through all of her songs she still needed about 5 more minutes before Junko would let her off the hook. The only other song she knew was one that her mother had put together with her. They had written the song while living in Koriyo and had made it about Kushina's two romantic partners. The first half was meant to be an apology to Minato, while the second half was about finding new love with Zabuza.

Choosing to go with that song, Naruko began to play. She started strumming the strings as she needed to, waiting for the note to finish before playing the next one. As the timing changed she picked up the pace, even getting to a point where she would use a finger to pluck one string while she used her plectrum to hit a different string. The overall effect was an almost haunting tune that four people in the room recognized. Kakashi and Sasuke both recognized it as Kushina would hum or sing it back in Konoha. The two Demon Brothers had heard Zabuza humming a few notes every now and then, usually when they were on the road, and would stop his humming to get very agitated when either of the two asked about the song.

As the words joined with the music Naruko sang with a husky tone this time, but still keeping the flow as smooth as honey. As the blond played her mother's song the sound changed from haunting and sad to almost hesitant, and then it changed to light and love filled. Sasuke had never asked what the song was about, but now hearing it with all the parts brought together he was more than curious, and was mildly shocked when Kakashi explained it. "When Kushina and Naruko lived here they both met a man. For Naruko he was a teacher and father figure. For Kushina he was a lover who helped her heal from the loss of the Yondaime, her husband. I asked Kushina about this song, it was when I went to meet with the guardians of my Genin. She was a bit embarrassed to tell me at first, just saying it was a song that she and Naruko made together. Then she told me more of the story. I still don't know who the man after my sensei is, or was, but he brought both members of the Uzumaki-Namikaze family happiness."

Right as the one eyed Jonin finished the explanation the song ended as well. Naruko had a few tears in her eyes from remembering those times and brushed them away gently before going back behind the curtains and getting changed again.

While backstage Naruko fished around in some of the spare outfits, choosing to keep acting like one of the Flowers by throwing on a body hugging cocktail dress. She got dressed, and with her hair still in the waves from the show, she returned to her group. With a false smile on her face she approached the table, getting her questioning looks from the rest of Team 7. When she got to the table she told them that it was just a disguise before telling them what she had overheard. Naruko knew that at least Sasuke knew about Yoko, and suspected that Kakashi might as well, so she chose to leave Yoko's help unmentioned. 'Sorry I can't say you did the listening Yoko-nee. Too many people knowing a secret is a bad thing.'

When asked what the two had said Naruko divulged the information to the rest. "There are two guys on the opposite wall, I think they are ninja. I heard them talking about some job that they missed the target for." Hearing this caused Tazuna to pale a bit before Naruko continued on. "They were also saying some very... dark things, as I was on stage, about me. The worst part I heard is that they are after a bridge builder named Tazuna." At this part she looked over to her team's client who nodded his head and whispered out that it was indeed him the two wanted.

"Sasuke, you and Sakura take Tazuna to the back rooms. Keep his face hidden so they don't recognize him as their target. Naruko and I will stay behind, they are still focused on her, so we can play a distraction." Kakashi gave the orders quickly, only watching the waiting ninja through the corner of his eye. Looking back at his sensei's daughter Kakashi asked if she was ready and received a nod before he gave the signal to the other two. Once the three were gone, Tazuna slung over the Leaf ninjas' shoulders like a passed out drunk, and with no movement from the hired assassins the act began between the two remaining Leaf ninja.

"You were really good up there, but I was wondering how you sound in private." Kakashi was acting like an average customer and even pulled out his wallet as he asked. Naruko blushed a bit and felt herself actually becoming aroused by the act, something that Kakashi was able to pick up on through smell, and told him that they could talk price after if the silver haired man wanted. She sat down next to him as they continued their act, the whole time Meizu was getting angrier about being ignored by the blond teen. After Kakashi and Naruko had 'come to a deal' they stood up and proceeded to find a private room, passing right by the Demon Brothers.

Meizu reached out and grabbed Naruko's arm, as she passed, with his gauntlet arm. "Why don't you come play with my brother and I instead of that old man?" His grip tightened and Naruko pretended that it hurt as she tried to pull away. "I'm sure we can keep you nice and busy for the rest of the day."

Taking a page from Hinata's book Naruko quickly forced herself to be flustered and started to stutter as she spoke. "I-I'm s-sorry sir b-but I a-already ag-reed to e-enter-t-tain this ge-gentleman. P-Please l-let go of my arm, y-you're hurting me."

'She is a lot better at that then I would have thought. She is normally so loud and energetic that this seems impossible.' Kakashi was impressed with her act and choose to speak up to assist her. "Please listen to the lady and let her go. If she is willing to talk with you after she will." Kakashi then went to grab Meizu's hand, but was stopped by Gozu who grabbed him by the wrist.

"What makes this guy better than us sugar-tits?" With a sneer at the Jonin in the room Meizu kept forcing the issue.

"I-I have a th-thing for gu-guys in m-masks." Naruko forced herself to blush a deeper shade of red as she started to fidget. "Th-there is j-just s-something about the my-mystery b-behind it." When the impatient brother raged at that excuse as both he and his brother had masks she replied with, "Yeah, but you took them off. There is no more mystery to you two." Suddenly a plate in the kitchen broke as it hit the floor, drawing the attention of the brothers and allowing Naruko and Kakashi to pull free from the hands holding them. Their successful attempt at freeing themselves only made the Demon Brothers pay attention to them again as they left the main room. Once they were in the hallway, leading to the personal quarters for the Flowers, they were called out to by both brothers.

"Listen here you blond bitch, we are the the Demon Brothers. Chunin level nuke-nin, and when we say we want you to entertain us you will do it." Gozu charged her and held her back as Meizu went for Kakashi, his gauntlet ready to tear into the silver haired man. The Jonin allowed himself to take the hit, using the substitution technique to leave a barstool in his place. Meizu's arm was stuck in the legs of the stool which Kikashi used to twist the extended arm, snapping it in a sickening crack.

Gozu had let go of Naruko as he watched his brother being dispatched so easily. Taking a simple stance from Kirigakure's taijutsu he got ready to attack the taller man, before being kicked in the side of the head by the blond he had released a second before. "Sensei, these two are ninja from Kiri. I recognized this one's ready stance." Naruko then took the same, slightly relaxed, pose as the enemy before flickering away from view. Instantly she came back into view for Kakashi, behind the dark haired man and drove the heel of her right palm into the area where skull and vertebrae meet, before vanishing again and coming back on the stunned man's blind side. This time she drove a punch into his left jaw.

"What the hell is going on?" Gozu said aloud as he tried to keep his eyes on the blond.

"Kirigakure's taijutsu needs the user to strike from anywhere and everywhere." Gozu took a punch to the socket joint of his gauntleted arm, popping it out of place. "It is about being the same as mist." Suddenly there was a knee in Gozu's ribs, forcing the air from his lungs. "The user needs to be fast and quiet." Elbow to his right jaw. "If you can't do that, you might as well die." With a slight poof from her scroll of hidden supplies Naruko pulled her sword and brought it to the terrified assassin's neck, catching him in the curve along the bladed edge and pinning him to the wall.

"Who the hell are you?" Gozu squeaked out, trying to keep his throat away from the sharp edge. "There is no way you should know Kiri taijutsu! And even less reason why you have a sword like this!"

"The name is Namikaze Naruko. As for why I know how to fight like tha..." The blond began before being cut off by her sensei.

"Naruko, don't say anything else." Kakashi stepped forward and dropped, a disarmed and bound, Meizu at his brother's feet. "You and I will discuss that subject after."

"Aww spoil sport. I wanted to watch him piss himself in terror." With a pout on her face she pulled her blade away from the man and sealed it away again. While her teacher tied up the second assailant she went back to the main room and grabbed a sake set to take back to the rooms. When she got to the rooms Kakashi was there and giving the rest of their group a brief overview of the events. The two tied up ninja were left in the front area, under genjutsu, until proper authorities arrived and paid the reward for the brothers to the Golden Garden.

"So now that we have a win under our belts, who wants a drink?" Holding up the pilfered goods Naruko smiled and poured herself a single saucer. As she went to take her drink it was suddenly gone from her hand, snatched from her by the Jonin in the room.

"What about avoiding the three vices of all shinobi?" Kakashi looked at her with his one eye, waiting for an answer.

"Kaa-san lets me and Sasuke drink. So long as there is an adult, of age, around and it is no more than one drink. And it is only as a celebration, never just to drink." Acting relaxed as she explained it, Naruko suddenly shot out her hand trying to get the little cup back, only to have it pulled further away from her. "Come on teme, tell him I'm not lying."

Looking over at the quiet genuine Kakashi received a nod. "She is telling the truth." With a sigh the responsible adult in the room returned the cup to the blond and allowed her the one drink, and then to pass one out to the rest of the group. Once all the drinks were finished; Sakura having taken a few small sips of it, Tazuna asking for another, Sasuke taking his as normally as Naruko had, and Kakashi just holding onto his, the serious subject of Naruko's skills being from Kiri came up. "I always knew her styles weren't from Konoha, but that is all I knew." Sasuke said when he heard what village's skills she had learned.

"I said it on the first day of the Academy, I learned from someone else. I just knew I shouldn't say who I learned from." With a look of waiting in her direction from the other Leaf shinobi present she heaved a deep sigh and explained. "I started learning when I was 4. It was actually in this village, at this brothel, that I met my first teacher. His name is Momochi Zabuza, he taught me everything he could for four years, and is like a father to me." Looking at the rest she could still see Kakashi wanted some more things answered. "Zabuza is a missing ninja from Kiri, and was one of their Seven Swordsmen of the Mist." Taking out her sword Naruko looked it over, noticing a few small chips in the blade, before taking out the tools to sharpen it. "He is the one who taught me kenjutsu. He even gave me this sword." With a smile on her face as she remembered it, "When I got it, it was as big as me. He said it was the only style he could teach me because it was the only style he knew. So, I soaked in every lesson I could and I practiced with it daily till I could carry it like he did with his."

"Are you good enough to teach other people?" Kakashi asked the question, more as a way to judge her own confidence with the weapon.

"Yes and no." Naruko looked down at the blade, a slight frown tugging on her lips. "I only learned two scrolls worth of techniques from Zabuza. Everything else came from the original scrolls, and only as far as the fifth of the seven." Happy with her work of maintaining the heavy weapon she put all of her stuff away.

"Then I don't want you using it. Unless there is nothing else you can do, it stays sealed away. And if you do need to use it, you can only go as far as what Zabuza taught you personally." Kakashi looked her in the eyes, his expression was all seriousness. "Do you understand Genin Namikaze?" His only response was a slight nod.

"Hai, Kaka-sensei. I understand." Finding the room a little too cramped now, after having that limit put on her, she got up and left the room. As she left Naruko took the unfinished bottle of sake with her. "I'll go take this back to the bar." Her voice was betraying her emotions, carrying with it a hint of depression.

The rest of the night, until going to bed, the group discussed what to do about Tazuna's mission having been a lie. The matter was closed quickly, as the genin all voted to keep going with the mission. At first no one in the room caught on that the Naruko sitting with them, after her return from the bar, was just a clone. The real Naruko chose to stay in the main room and fell asleep on one of the couches, her clone dispelling itself when everyone else left the room shared by the two female genin.

A few hours after they broke up for the night Naruko woke from her uncomfortable resting place as she heard someone trying to find something behind the bar. As she woke up more, and her senses got oriented again, she could tell it was Kakashi. He was trying to find something to drink. Over the years he had made a habit of having just a single cup of sake before bed, and now it was just part of his nightly rituals. He hadn't had the drink earlier to act as a role model for his students, that while drinking was okay, it should be done carefully. He had been glad when his team had stuck to the one drink rule.

"Kakashi-sensei, what are you doing?" Naruko rubbed an eye tiredly as she watched him turn towards her.

"Just looking for something to drink before retiring for the night. Bit of a habit now for me. Just one and then I'm off." He continued to watch his student as she reached to the side of her makeshift bed, and lifted an almost empty sake bottle.

"I had a little too much when I got out here. Take the last of this." Kakashi looked at her a bit surprised, and a bit concerned. Just as Kakashi was wondering why his student didn't seem affected by the sake at all she spoke up. "I don't know what it is, either my Uzumaki blood or the fox's chakra in me, but I burn off alcohol really fast nowadays." She got up and took the bottle to her teacher. "I'm sorry sensei. I didn't want to drink more. After you told me I couldn't use my sword I felt bad and just wanted to forget the feeling."

Kakashi took the bottle from her and then put a hand on her head, rubbing it gently as she nuzzled into the hand. "That is okay Naruko. So long as you aren't sick from it, just don't do it again." She nodded her head under his hand and moved closer to him, putting her arms around him in a hug. Awkwardly Kakashi returned the hug, his free hand rubbing the teen's back.

Naruko pulled the silver haired man closer to her, her chest pressed against him. Looking up at the Jonin, she met his only visible eye as she let go of his torso. The blond continued to watch his lone eye before gathering her courage and shifting to her tip toes, putting her hands on either side of his face, thumbs pulling down the top of his mask and bringing her lips to meet his. She kept the kiss gentle at first when she felt him tense up, but when he relaxed a bit she put more passion behind it.

When Naruko broke the kiss for air she took in her sensei's facial features with a nearly crimson blush to her cheeks. Kakashi looked down at his student, a bit shocked from the sudden kiss, and put the bottle he was still holding on the bar top. Naruko's redness only worsened in the silence, she bit her bottom lip and started to fidget. She wanted to kiss him again, but she didn't know how he would react this time. Choosing to go with instinct Naruko leaned in to the man who was currently driving her hormones crazy and initiated a new kiss. Lost in the moment Kakashi began to reciprocate the action, adding his own efforts when Naruko went from biting her own lip to nibbling on his.

Eventually Naruko moaned into the kiss and opened her mouth a bit, wanting him to take the lead, and was rewarded with Kakashi's probing tongue. Her arms worked their way around his neck in a loose hold, keeping him there with her. Again she needed to come up for air and pulled away, with more reluctance than a grumpy Sasuke on floor duty at the Uzumaki compound. Naruko looked into his open eye for a second and exhaled. Her fingers curled up into his shirt and her lips made contact with the left side of his neck in a soft kiss.

Her soft breath was warm on his neck, and caused a slight shiver to go through him. He could smell the sweet scent of sake on the blond as she exhaled softly. Her hands worked their way to the bottom hem of his shirt and pulled on it. Slowly Kakashi reached out and put his hands on her shoulders, pushing her back just a bit. When their eyes met he could see the deep desire that bordered on need.

Hesitantly Naruko freed her hands from his shirt, her chest heaving in calming shallow breaths, before she felt her teacher wrap his arms around her. "Naruko?" Kakashi waited until he heard a slight response from the normally loud girl in his arms. "I just want you to be absolutely sure this is what you want before this goes any further." He waited a few seconds, feeling her relax.

"I want this sensei." She looked up at him, still in his arms with that same desire in her eyes but now with assurance in them as well. "I don't know if this will always be what I want, but I do want this Kakashi...san." Naruko held his single eye with both of her cerulean ones. She switched her honorific for the man in order to get more respect for her position on this important matter.

Kakashi nodded his head twice. "Okay. Let's return to my room." With a nod from the shorter of the two he lead her to the room he had been given for the night. After he closed the sliding door he took out six paper slips and affixed them to the door, one at each corner and then one where the wood met the threshold at the top and bottom. Kakashi then took out six more slips, this time smaller, and set one to each wall as well as one to the ceiling and floor. The first six slips where locking seals to keep the room closed off, while the second set of six were to keep people from hearing anything.

* * *

 **Lemon Warning. Skip if you do not want to read.**

* * *

Naruko was fidgeting slightly under the gaze of her sensei when he turned back towards her. She was nervous, this was going to be only her second time with a male partner, and she knew that he could tell. When he came back over to her it was to wrap his arms around her, his arms brought her back to the physical moment and helped relax the blond. As soon as her fidgeting stopped Naruko returned the warm embrace and met his lips with her own, after he tilted her chin up using his right hand. As they shared the kiss Kakashi moved his hand slowly to his student's chest and began to tease the well developed area, neither bothering to remove any of her clothes or going underneath them.

Naruko's slight moan forced them to break the kiss, and drove her face into the crook of the man's neck with a violent blush on her cheeks. Her fingers where clenching the back of his shirt, forcing the fabric to strain against his muscled torso. From her position in his neck she could feel every time his heart beat. As his hand continued to gingerly squeeze her breasts, switching randomly from right to left and then back, he brought his own lips to her neck and kissed the soft skin at her throat. Every three or four kisses he would suddenly graze her neck with his teeth or suck on the tender area, leaving a small light mark that felt like hot fire in it's place. Every time he left a mark the feeling would remain until the next one was made.

It didn't take long for him to have her feeling like gelatin. Her knees where a bit shaky and her breathing was deep but short. Every time he came in for a kiss to her neck or throat she would lean her head away, giving him more room. When her knees finally gave out Naruko felt gravity take over, but was instantly kept up by her teacher's arms. He then lowered her slowly and renewed his gentle ministrations to her neck and chest. This time as he played with her breasts he went under the zipped up jacket she wore. His skilled fingers made there way up her flat stomach, leaving the slightest sensation behind every time the holes of her mesh shirt left exposed skin.

Again his hand found her still growing chest and began to knead the area with the utmost care. His palm would rub against her stiffened nipples when he would release the soft flesh, and with growing occurrence he would rub a finger into them. As her moans quickly became more frequent he began to pinch and roll the nubs. 'Oh Kami. This feels so good.' Naruko bit her lip as she returned her senses to what was happening and her breathing grew heavier.

Every part of the blond's body felt like the sun to her. Her legs had fought to keep her up longer than she thought they would, and were now happily squirming as she tried to find a new position. Her arms were molten weights as far as she could tell, she could still move them easily, but even just keeping a hold of Kakashi's shirt was energy taxing. The heat in her face was like she was staring into the summer sun in Konoha. The hottest place though had to be between her legs. Her core was fire itself and begging for something to help relieve it, the wetness caused by her arousal only made the desire worse. She wanted out of her clothes, needed it in fact, and didn't want to wait for Kakashi to do it for her.

Fumbling with the zipper of her jacket Naruko willingly opened it up for the man's access. With her outer layer opened Kakashi moved his hand further down the girl's body, letting her feel his fingers going down her stomach to the waist of her pants before traveling along the outside to between her thighs. The sensation was dulled by the presence of her pants and only made her a bit more eager to feel him. Her moans turned to soft coos as she slowly rocked her hips into his hand, one of her own hands had taken over playing with her bra and mesh shirt covered bust. "Please Kakashi-sensei," Naruko's plea came out breathy, but got the point across.

As soon as she had spoken Kakashi attended to the unworded desire. His fingers found their way to the waist of her pants, hooking around the tops and letting him pull them off slowly. When the Jonin did begin to remove the tight fitting garment he left the blond's underwear undisturbed and an embarrassed blush came to her face. She adjusted her position to make the removal of her pants easier, squirming as the durable fabric was pulled past her shapely ass and lifting her legs as the pant legs were slid off by their hems. She still had her shirt and bra on, with her jacket open, and her underwear as well, however she felt almost more naked than had she just been stripped from the beginning. As she stared into Kakashi's eye she failed to notice as he reached out and began to run his hand along her toned legs.

It was all she could do to not yelp and squirm when he started, but she quickly got used to it again and started to purr her appreciation. He was strong but gentle, and took his time to let her feel what he was doing. His fingers found tender areas that even the Hyuuga heiress hadn't found yet, and exploited this fact every time her breath quickened. In only a few seconds he had returned her to her deep arousal, his fingers only inches from the place she wanted him to touch, and then he stopped. "Do you want me to keep going?" When Naruko nodded her head slowly he sat back. "Then take the rest of your clothes off for me."

He watched her every move as she did so. She started by turning her back to him, slowly withdrawing her left arm from the sleeve of her jacket and pulled it off of the shoulder. Then it was the right arm, once the black and orange fabric was off she held her arm out and dropped it to the floor. Next thing she did was to grab the bottom front of her shirt and lift it over her head, the mesh fabric flowed effortless off of her and only found minor difficulty when being freed from her long hair. Now in just her bra and panties she stepped towards her teacher with her hands behind her back as she fumbled with the clasps of her bra. 'Maybe I should go get remeasured after this mission.' As she removed the simple band of fabric she saw Kakashi watching her closely, and let the supportive garment fall to the floor on top of her shirt. Pulling on the waist of her underwear she let them just fall off of her, allowing her to just step out of them.

During Naruko's little demonstration Kakashi had adjusted his position a few times, trying to make himself comfortable. Now that the blond was done and watching him as much as he was watching her, she could easily see the tent in his pants. Choosing to take control for now Naruko sat on her knees gently and began to tease the man by rubbing the stiffness in his pants from outside of the too tight clothing, much like he had done to her. His breath caught as soon as she touched him, his manhood twitching slightly with each grazing stroke.

When Naruko felt he had enough of the treatment she loosened the button of his civilian style pants and pulled them down, releasing his erection for her to take it in her hand. Taking a quick guess she would have to say he was 8 or 9 inches, bigger than the first guy she had been with though not by much, as she started to take long slow strokes up and down. Every few strokes the manhood in her hand would twitch, and as it twitched more she began to massage it faster. When Kakashi's breathing had become heavier she put just the tip into her mouth and let her tongue circle the head, switching between clockwise and counter-clockwise motions, as she pumped his length. As she continued to play with him Naruko started letting her head drift further than just the tip before coming back up, then she went further again and back up.

When Kakashi started to thrust weakly up into her mouth she took her hand away and relaxed herself as much as she could, swallowing him to the base of his shaft with her tongue sliding along the underside of it. His moans turned into a sigh the first time she took the entire length, but quickly turned back to moans as she pull away before working back down. She sped up her head's bobbing whenever Kakashi felt used to the current attention. After speeding up for the third time, her head barely making it all the way up before going back, Kakashi groaned and flooded her throat and mouth with a thick shot of semen. As soon as she felt his manhood release she took him to the base, and let him finish his release as she swallowed a few times.

As soon as Kakashi was done Naruko pulled away and breathed in deeply. With a sexually charged, mischievous, grin on her face she looked at him. "Next time just warn me Kakashi-sensei." She then giggled playfully as her hand started stroking him again, keeping him from going soft after just that. Slowly the blond straddled her teacher's thighs as she continued to work him. "Do you think you can keep going? I still need my turn." His answer was a nod as he switched their positions, carefully putting Naruko on her back with him between her legs and his erection ready to work its way into her.

"Is this your first time Naruko?" Kakashi asked gently, he had been trying to make this a pleasurable experience for her and so far had done a good job of it.

She shook her head. "No, my first was last year." She wiggled her hips to get a bit more comfortable. "It was with Akimichi Choji." When he looked at her with a mildly surprised look in his face she explained. "What? He is cute in a chubby goofball kind of way. Plus he is a good guy, bought me lunch the next day and didn't let it get weird." Tired of having to wait any longer she took the man's member in her hand and guided it into her as she pushed herself in towards him. With a sharp intake of breath, a wince, and a sigh Kakashi was inside her, and she loved it. Naruko hadn't been intimate with a guy since Choji, and would honestly admit to missing this feeling sometimes, but had kept active with Hinata every now and then. Wrapping her arms around Kakashi's neck she lifted herself up by them and kissed him as he slowly started to move.

At first he just pushed until he was as far inside of her as he could get. Once she was used to him he started to thrust slowly, pulling back every time she went to inhale. As her breathing got faster so did the silver haired man, usually getting to about halfway out when she started to exhale before plunging back into her. Her breathing quickly turned to panting and then into moans. Each time he pushed all the way in he would poke the entrance to her womb, which earned him honey voiced moans.

Her moans came frequently as he felt her tighten around him more, and this made him move rougher. Now every time he would move elicited a moan and caused the blond's breasts to bounce. Kakashi moved his hands to her chest and started to tease them again, his right hand playing with the air stiffened nipples while his left kept him steady on the floor. Naruko's moans grew louder into just under the volume of a scream. Kakashi kept thrusting into her and felt her tender core squeeze him. "Oh Kami. Kakashi-sensei I'm so close, just a bit more." Kakashi began to kiss her neck, working his way up her throat and jaw to her ears. When he got to the blond's ear he nibbled on it gently and brought Naruko to a rough climax with his rhythmic thrusts.

Naruko slowly came down from her sexual high, and during that break Kakashi kept himself inside her. After she had relaxed the Namikaze teen pulled herself off of her teacher and began to lick his manhood clean. When the silver haired man began to moan from the oral attention she stopped. "This time I want us both to peak." Naruko pushed him back so he was sitting and straddled him gently, his manhood pressed to the entrance of her slit, before she slid down every inch of it. When he was all the way inside her, his lower head pressed roughly against her cervix, she began to grind into him.

Both of them were driven to deep panting quickly, working their excitement into a frenzy. Kakashi put his hands on her hips and his mouth to her breast, sucking and nibbling the tender tips, as the young woman in his lap began to bounce along his cock. She pressed her chest against his, keeping her breasts from bouncing too much but enough to be felt by her companion. After a few minutes Naruko stopped her riding at the head of his manhood before turning around gingerly, putting her back to him, before starting again. As she rode him Kakashi moved a hand to her front and his other hand to her toned round ass. She set the pace with her hips while his hands guided them.

Feeling a bit unsteady Naruko leans more forward and rests part of her weight on one hand. Kakashi takes advantage of the new position and gently shifts her onto her hands and knees. With one hand in the small of Naruko's back the Jonin continued to guide her while he thrust slowly. The hand he has been using to massage her breasts travels down her flat stomach and stopped at her womanhood, his fingers playing with her clit carefully and practiced in their ministrations. Her knees felt weak as he touched her and her moans felt like honey to her throat, thick and heavy but almost fluid. Naruko's core tightened around her teacher's length when she felt him start twitching inside her.

Kakashi was grunting and moaning as he and Naruko kept going. He was getting close, he knew it but did not want to until she was ready as well. Almost as soon as she felt him twitch she purred gently ground her hips with the motion of her lover. "It's okay if you want to cum sensei. Just do it where ever, it's safe." It had been a long standing rule in Konoha, any Kunoichi leaving the village for longer than a month had an extended duration seal put on them that acted as contraceptive.

Kakashi only lasted a few more deep thrusts before he came. His fresh load of semen washing against Naruko's deepest parts, flooding her quickly. As soon as the first shot was released Naruko's own orgasm came along, her slick walls gripping onto the probing member buried deep inside her as she moaned and cooed her delight. As they both rode through the feeling of climax they remained partnered as they were. Naruko was the one to pull away, her hole making a soft wet pop sound when Kakashi had been pulled free.

"Oh wow. That was amazing sensei." Her words were slow but betrayed her blissful feeling. Naruko laid down on her side and stretched as much as she could, her knees popping slightly as they eased into a regular position. When Kakashi stretched out next to her she looked at the usually masked man and kissed him once more, her body about to give in to sleep as she felt his arm come around her waist and lower a blanket over them both.

* * *

 **Lemon Scene Over!**

* * *

The next morning came too soon for a stiff jointed Naruko as she woke up in an unfamiliar situation. She quickly replayed the events of the previous night and almost over heated from her full body blush. 'Oh Kami, I really slept with sensei?' She looked down at the man she shared the room with and yelped as she realized that the previous night was not a dream. Her startled excitement stirred the Jonin enough to wake him up as well, bringing her blush to an even brighter shade of red. "M-morning se-sensei. Sleep well?" Her brain instantly resorted to dumb question mode in her nervous rush to keep from anything being awkward.

A knock came from the still sealed off door. "Kakashi-sensei, it's Sakura. We can't find Naruko, have you seen her?"

Naruko eeped as Kakashi got to his feet, still naked from the previous night and began to take the silencing seals from the walls. Naruko quickly grabbed her discarded clothes from the floor and exited the room through the window, into the back garden of the brothel. Ducking under the window she got dressed quickly before running around to the front of the building and entered in a cold sweat, her over adrenalized condition forcing her to breathe heavily as if she had been doing laps around Konoha.

Looking around the main room Naruko saw the male Genin of her team, as well as the team's client, sitting at one of the tables eating. She strolled over and joined them, Sasuke's only acknowledgement of her being a raised eyebrow. "Hey teme, did I miss anything?" She asked as the medic and leader of her team both walked in.

"We were trying to find you, but you weren't here at all." Sakura said, answering the blond's question.

"Oh, yeah. Sorry, I went for a run this morning." Naruko's forehead was still sweaty and reinforced her quick lie. She then put a hand behind her head and started to scratch while she chuckled softly. She stopped her scratching as she looked at her teacher and, with a return to a serious nature, asked him, "So what is our plan now Kakashi-sensei? Same as before, meet a boat in the next town over and take that to Wave?"

The silver haired man nodded his head before going to the kitchen to order some food. When he returned he sat down and broke the plan down more. "The next town over should only be about an hour away at ninja speeds, three at most if we don't take breaks just walking." He looked around the table, making sure everyone was listening. "In the town we will meet with a friend of Tazuna here, who is going to ferry us across the strait into Wave. That trip should be about another two hours. Once we make it ashore Tazuna will guide us to his home, where we will be staying. According to him, that trek should only take us an hour, even at civilian speed." As he talked his food has been finished so he went to get it.

"Naruko." Kakashi called to the blond, gaining her attention. "Do you think you could carry Tazuna on your back for an hour? I believe he is around the same weight as your sword, maybe a bit heavier but not by much." Naruko nodded and said it should easy as she always used to carry the sword on her back before getting her personal storage scroll. She also accidentally made a comment that could be dirty, about it not being the first time a guy would be riding her, before she realized it and slammed her head to the table. "Okay. Everybody who needs to eat do so, if you already have eaten go wash up and get ready in ninja gear. Naruko please unseal our things and leave it in the room you and Sakura shared." During Kakashi's orders he didn't even touch his food, waiting for the members of his team to leave before pulling down the mask and finishing before they returned.

Choosing to eat something while on the road again Naruko went to take a bath first. The baths at the Garden were for Flower, and other employee, use and as such were about the same size as a standard public bath house. As soon as her toes touched the water every muscle in Naruko's body screamed with relief. Once in the water she let herself soak in the heat, her mind replaying last night and exploring herself slowly looking for any marks that might still be there. "You only have a few marks on your neck." Naruko jumped out of her skin, the voice was masculine and could only belong to the same man who had made said marks. The nervous blond looked over at the man who was in only his mask with a towel wrapped around his waist.

Naruko lit up like a christmas tree when she saw him and started to tell him to leave. "G-g-get out of here Kakashi-sensei! I'm naked!" His only response was to climb into the large tub as well and just sit there, on the opposite side of her, and enjoy the water. "W-what the hell Pervert? I said get out."

"I just want to talk Naruko, about last night." Kakashi spoke carefully and with a serious tone.

"I could have figured out what you wanted to talk about sensei." The seriousness in the usually lackadaisical man's voice had her feeling like she had been over reacting now.

"I know you could have Naruko." Now he looked at her, making a note that Naruko's chest was the type to float in a hot bath but just as random information. "You may not have been the best when it came to book smarts, but you are good at reading a moment." She hung her head a bit at that, pouting, before he continued. "I just want to say that it was a pleasant evening, one of my best in years, and that I hope this doesn't change things at all."

"Hai sensei. I don't want it to either." Her blush returned fiercer than before as she tried to admit that she enjoyed their activity as well. "I l-liked it too Kaka..."

Just as she was saying his name the door was kicked open by her usually moody adopted brother. The thought had come to his mind that she must have been out already if Kakashi had gone in and not been kicked out. Naruko was instantly on her feet as she tried to attack him, forgetting that she wasn't covered by anything and giving him a full frontal view. When Kakashi coughed to get her attention and handed her a towel from the side of the bath she screamed and rushed from the room, pulling the white cotton around her until she got back to her room. Once she had calmed down Naruko dried off and got dressed before returning to the main room with any gear that wasn't going to be needed right away sealed away with the scrolls in her own bag.

When everyone was done getting ready and reunited in the main room Naruko handed the bag to Sasuke. "If I am going to carry Tazuna, you need to take my bag. Everything brought with us is in the scrolls inside so don't lose it." The black haired teen took the bag and slung it across his back as they exited through the front door. "Okay, the fastest way to get to the next town is straight through those trees." Naruko pointed to her left as she looked at her team before letting the bridge builder climb on her back. With the order from Kakashi they set off at full speed.

Several hours later Team 7 had just gotten to shore in the Land of Waves and had begun the short trip to Tazuna's home. Again they were in the diamond formation around the client, this time Naruko was in front with Kakashi in the rear, Sasuke to the right, and Sakura to the left. "Hey, old man." Naruko called for Tazuna quietly, and when she got a 'hnn' in reply she continued. "Is it always this misty here?" When he told her it was usually misty she relaxed a bit, until Yoko told her of something to their left in the bushes. Naruko acted quickly, throwing one of her kunai where Yoko directed her, causing a small white rabbit to jump out and flee. It was then that the mist started getting thicker, too thick to be natural. "Sensei, we need to hide and keep low now." Just as the words left her mouth she heard the sound of something large flying through the air, almost like a shuriken. 'Hisenken?' "Get down!" She jumped forward as she turned around, tackling Tazuna to the ground and her team mates following her lead just as a large sword flew by over their heads and imbedded itself into a tree.

"AHAHAHA, good instincts on you blondie. Not many people expect that move." A gruff almost gravelly voice called out from where the sword was, meaning the attacker had to be using it as a platform. Naruko looked up as the voice sunk in, fearing what she might see, but was unable to make out anything through the mist.

"Oh yeah? Then who are you? I've heard it is customary to give your name to the people you are about to fight." Naruko called back as she stood up, trying to see what she could learn from the mystery man. Suddenly the hazy shape on the giant blade was gone and Naruko's vision was filled with the bandage wrapped face of a man who kicked her away from her group before disappearing into the mist again. 'Those eyes, it has to be him.'

"This is Momochi Zabuza. Rogue ninja from Kirigakure and a former Seven Swordsman of the Mist." Kakashi told his team quickly as they all regroup around their client. "Keep Tazuna safe, the mission is priority."

"And I see I have the honor of fighting Copy Ninja Kakashi. I don't need the rest of your names, you're only worth remembering when you make it into my Bingo Book." Zabuza's voice was coming from everywhere within the mist.

"He's above us!" Naruko called out as she pushed Sakura to the side while Sasuke pulled Tazuna away with him. Just as everyone moved the Kubikiribocho slammed into the ground, tearing up the soft earth.

"That is twice now you read my attacks blondie. How?" Zabuza stared at her waiting. 'This isn't good. She needs to go first if she can read all of my attempts.'

"I'm a stealth specialist of Konohage..." Naruko was cut off as the Sever Sword was brought up, biting deep into her body before the blonde in front of everyone fell apart into a puddle of water.

"WHAT?!" Zabuza looked around for her, trying to find any trace in the, too dense for even him, mist. 'When did the mist get this thick?' He continued to swivel his head back and forth, listening for any sound. "So you know the Mizu Bunshin girly? That is impressive for a tree climber."

"I learned from one of the best." Naruko held a kunai to the back of his neck, her eyes closed, just as the nuke-nin in front of her turned to water as well.

"Good, that makes this more interesting." Zabuza said as he came out from behind a tree, his sword in his hand as he lunged forward and ready to swing.

Chapter End

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I know it is a bit of a cliff hanger but I wanted to leave more for next chapter. Please give me your opinions on the lemon scene, I haven't written one that long before and I feel like it could have been better.

To kaylafike500: Don't worry, what we discussed will still be happening. The next chapter brings around some of the things that helps lead to it.


	11. Chapter 11

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

To AnimeA55Kicker: It has been 7 years since he last saw her. Over that time Naruko went from just a little girl to young woman, she isn't going to stay like 4' tall and undeveloped. He also usually saw her hair in braids from what parts I did bother to mention how her hair was done. He does remember her though. This chapter will bring some of that together.

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Chapter 7: Naruko

With Yoko's help Naruko was aware that her team and client were clear of the charging Zabuza. As the large sword came at her in a horizontal swing, from Zabuza's right to left, she jumped over it and planted a hand on the flat of it pushing herself to the side the blade came from. Planting his feet, Zabuza pushed off the ground to follow her and slammed his shoulder into the young blond knocking her back further. 'If this really is Zabuza, his form is too wild. It's not what the scrolls would teach.' Looking around as the tall man stalked towards her she scoffed. "Are you really one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist? I would have expected more."

"Oh I am, you can trust that blondie." Zabuza rushed her again, his sword coming from his left leg to his right shoulder. This time Kakashi intervened, holding the man's arm down to the side, giving Naruko the time to disengage and meet up with her team again. "Well at least you don't let kids fight for you Kakashi." Both men jumped away from each other twice, Zabuza's jumps shorter than the masked Jonin's.

"Well, I couldn't very well let you kill one of my Genin." Kakashi watched his opponent, no movement that either made was wasteful and neither was anything said. Kakashi pulled a kunai from his thigh holster and brought it up, ready to move. Zabuza stabbed his sword down into the dirt as he made two water clones, one to help him with the infamous veteran in front of him and the other to hunt down the three Genin and bridge builder.

In the bushes nearby the Genin of Team 7 were watching as Naruko began to unseal any ninja tools that may be helpful. So far she had taken out a bunch of regular shuriken and kunai, some ninja wire, and one large collapsing shuriken that belonged to Sasuke. "Sakura, this guy is going to keep going for his target. You need to get Tazuna to his house fast. I'll cover you, and Sasuke will go help sensei." Sakura nodded her head and got ready to run. "Teme, you need to watch everything that goes on, choose the best times to strike, and keep him from any large amounts of water." Sasuke nodded and put the shuriken and kunai to either side of him while Naruko unsealed a soldier pill for each of them. "Let's go, stay low and stay quiet." Sakura and Tazuna ran off with Naruko following 10 seconds later, to give them some distance. 'Naruko-nee, there are too many smells here. Only one too many but I can't feel whoever it is.' The blond nodded her head, and continued to watch for anything following her female teammate.

After a few minutes of nothing happening Naruko decided to make a shadow clone to return to the fight involving her sensei and housemate. Just as the clone ran away a shadow dropped from the trees in front of Sakura, forcing the girl and the old man to stop. Naruko decided to run around to the water clone's side and wait for her chance. As she shifted to one knee and took out her own sword the Zabuza copy began to take the Kubikiriboko from his back, but instead of bringing it down on either of the two in front of him he threw it with one hand directly at her. Naruko jumped from the spot to stand between him and the other two, her sword ready. One of the good things about Mizu Bunshin is that the clones still know what the caster knows, they just can't share what they themselves know with the rest like shadow clones.

As the fake Zabuza saw the blond land and swing her blade at him he reached out and grabbed her sword arm by the wrist. "Where did you get that sword blondie?" Naruko tried to pull free but couldn't and was kicked away, only to have the clone follow her with slow even steps. "I asked you where you got that sword girl."

The blond stood up with her free hand to her right side where she had been kicked. 'Dammit, probably fractured a rib if not broke it.' She took a slow deep breath, assessing it as just a fracture for now. "I got it from a good man, who taught me how to use it." The clone laughed and came at her quickly, too fast for her to react in time and took a knee to her face. She landed with her eyes closed and her breathing shallow, Zabuza believing that the hit had knocked her out returned his attention to the job he was hired for.

'I'll take her back to the hideout and leave her there. I'm not going to kill Naruko, if that is really her.' The clone walked right up to the two still frozen on lookers when he was suddenly hit in the left side by a small elbow, the large sword in the hand of that arm added weight to the attack and broke two ribs. 'Fuck, I thought she was out.'

"My name is Namikaze Naruko, and you will not hurt my friends you mummified ass." Naruko's nose, lips, and chin were covered in blood from the hit she took. Her eyes were focused and she put her sword on the back of her hip with the holder she had made for it. Her hands came up, only a slight tremor from exertion, as she began to make slow hand signs. The more signs her hands formed the more sure and steady the actions became, gaining speed as she flipped through the roughly 40 hand signs she needed. Bringing her hands together in one last seal she called out, "Suiton: Suiryudan no Jutsu." The dragon formed suddenly and shot towards the enemy clone. As the clone weaved in and out from between the trees the dragon chased it. Keeping her focus on the dragon to keep it going she started the same set of hand signs again, bringing a second dragon out to also chase him.

'So it really is her, and she is not pulling any punches it seems.' The clone didn't see or hear the second dragon coming and was caught off guard when it came up behind him, forcing the fake to fall apart. Both dragons met face first and turned into a burst of water that slammed down into the earth with a quick slapping sound.

"You two keep going. I'm going back for sensei and Sasuke." Naruko made sure her blade was secure before she took off at her full speed, having had to carry Tazuna and keep with her team had actually forced her to slow down, this time when she moved a small vacuum was made where she had stood. Her return was easy, no clones, no mysterious third party.

When she came to a stop she was next to Sasuke in the bushes from before she had left, his pile of projectiles almost out. She watched the fight as it continued, Kakashi blocking as the two Zabuzas traded off taking swings at him. The one eyed man was keeping up for the most part but he was also running low on stamina. "Have you only been attacking when sensei wouldn't be able to block?"

The sudden noise startled Sasuke. "Damn it Naruko. Both you and your clone did that. Yes, your clone took a few of the weapons with it."

Naruko nodded her head and whistled a certain note, signaling her clone to rush as backup. When it got to the fight it was mid blink and took the bottom of one of the swords' grips to the throat, popping it. The opening that came from that attack on the clone gave Kakashi a needed chance to stab his chipped and slightly bent kunai into the closest side. This side just happened to be the Mizu Bunshin which burst upon being stabbed and soaked Kakashi.

"Got you now Kakashi!" The gravelly voice of Zabuza rang out, almost laughing as he made the 11 quick gestures to catch the Jonin with his Suiro no Jutsu. Both Genin watched the scene unfold and jumped from the bushes into the clearing. They stood apart from each other so they could come at him from different sides. "You brats really think you can beat me?" Using one hand for his seals Zabuza made another clone, but it fell apart before it was complete as Naruko's sword cut it before digging into the ground. 'Crap, I don't have enough chakra to hold this and keep making clones.' As he looked between the two teens he rested his eyes on the sword in the ground, the shock of realization forcing his eyes open just a bit more. "Naruko?" He looked to the blond and almost lost his focus on the sphere of water that held Kakashi. "Naruko, is that really you?"

Slowly, not taking her eyes from him, Naruko nodded. "Yeah, it's me 'Moo-kun.'" She used the old nickname, hoping she might be able to talk to him to make him stop. "I guess I grew up too much for you to recognize me?" A dumb but sad smile came to her face. "I don't want to keep fighting you Zabuza."

He continued to stand there, fighting himself as he thought. "You know I can't do that brat. Once I take a mission I don't stop until my job is done, or I am." Resolving himself he focused back on the ball of water. "If you want to set him free you'll have to make me pull my arm free."

As Sasuke crept closer to the man who was focused on his teammate Naruko never stopped watching the man she saw like a father. "Don't bother Sasuke, he doesn't even need his hands to defend." Naruko moved quickly, closing the space between her and the man, as she stopped she brought her leg out in a sweeping kick just to have Zabuza jump over her leg and kick her away, next to her black haired brother figure. "I'm starting to get very tired of being kicked around like a fucking ball!"

"Then stop letting it happen brat. I taught you better than that." Zabuza scoffed as he turned away from her. "She was right, I don't need to defend myself. Neither of you will hit me." Naruko got up and dusted herself off looking at her trapped teacher.

"What's with Kakashi-sensei's left eye? I thought it was damaged or something." Naruko whispered to her teammate.

"That's the Sharingan blondie. I don't know why he has it, but he started using it a little after your clone got here." Sasuke muttered to the blond as he watched on. "How should we do this?"

"Mr. Mummy is going to see a lot of what I try and do, one downside to being trained by him." Naruko stood straight and put her hands on her knees, using her hands to push the joints back a bit before squatting to stretch the muscles back. "The best course of action is to make him pull his arm out. So long as he gives it chakra that technique will hold Kakashi-sensei." When she was done with stretching her legs she shook her arms out lightly before making fifteen shadow clones. "Keep your eyes on me moody." Looking at the first man she knew as a teacher Naruko began a slow advance, her clones following suit. "Sorry Moo-kun, but I'm going to have to take your arm."

Each Naruko charged the experienced assassin, and each one was sent flying back. The real blond let herself be kicked back to her weapon, using it as the center point of a spin to right herself and pull it free. "Good, you got your sword back. Now, try and take my arm." Zabuza laughed heartily as he watched her take the stance for Hisenken, not watching as one clone came up from behind him. As she swung the heavy weapon and let it fly the clone jumped at the muscular man who lept over the Suiro no Jutsu, keeping his arm inside it. "What? You didn't know that you can still move around the sphere so long as you keep contact and focus?"

Naruko's sword continued it's flight right into her clone and popped it. Sasuke, seeing that it was still coming towards him, dove to the side and came up in a roll onto his knee. "Watch i..." Just as the teen was about to yell the sword turned into a cloud of smoke and was gone. "Was that a disguised clone the whole time Naruko?"

With a goofy grin and a nod she answered, "Yep, pretty smart to not throw my best weapon away right?" As she answered she lifted the collapsable shuriken she had unsealed before sending off Sakura and Tazuna, and lobbed it to her almost brother. The blade landed point down into the ground and sank in slightly, a fact that Sasuke realized was off about the weapon before catching on. The Uchiha pulled the folded weapon from the ground before spinning it around on his wrist and stopping it mid spin, three of the four blades continued the motion and unfolded.

"Demon Windmill Shuriken. Always a favorite for me." Sasuke began to spin the tool on four of his fingers, letting it build speed. With his left arm out to act as a balance the teen threw the large shuriken with his right, sending it for Zabuza. Waiting for the last second Zabuza caught the projectile before having to jump over a second one that had been hidden in the shadow of the first.

"It will take more than that to beat me!" Just as Zabuza finished mocking the Uchiha, the second shuriken turned into a cloud of smoke with another Naruko coming out of the other side with one of her kunai already in mid flight. The flat bladed kunai flew back through the almost dispersed cloud as Naruko landed and made the tiger hand sign.

"Release!" With a quick pulse of chakra directed to her airborne knife Naruko forced the etched storage seals on both sides of it to undo. When the new cloud cleared a wave of hundreds of similarly flat kunai where added to the first, each one flying towards Zabuza. "I know the Suiro is strong enough to keep sensei safe, which means only you will get hurt."

With a snarl Zabuza pulled his arm free from the jutsu and cleared himself from the wall of flying knives. As soon as the orb of water was gone Naruko made another tiger sign and yelled again. This time all but the first kunai disappeared. "HA! Triple fooled you with the same trick Zabuza. More weapon disguised clones!" Reaching out Kakashi grabbed the flat blade from the air and held it at the ready. Both Jonin watched each other, waiting, and then they both started to flip through hand signs that the blond knew all too well.

Naruko continued to watch on as the two dragons attacked, circling, and broke apart, her own hands going into overdrive as she forced herself to keep up with Kakashi's casting of the Daibakufu. As her hands flew through the signs she pumped more chakra into the attack, hoping to over power both of the adult men's. Her result was one of the largest uses of the Jutsu she had ever attempted and broke through both of the others.

"I'm sorry sensei but I couldn't let you kill him." Naruko had apologized to her Jonin teacher when she landed next to him after the three attacks had cleared. Her chakra packed surge of water had forced Zabuza into a tree at least 20 yards from where he had been at the start of it. Kakashi had broken off early enough to only catch the outside of the Suiton technique, and landed on one knee and panting heavily. "Zabuza, please give up. We can take you back to Konoha. You can be with kaa-san again. Please?..'Otou-san'?"

"Haha, that's a new one from you brat." Zabuza coughed a bit as he laughed. "You never called me father back in Koriyo." He looked at her through sad eyes as he tried to stand. "But you know how I am. I get my job done or I die trying, and so far I'm happily still alive."

"Then I guess this is where you die Momochi Zabuza." A new voice called out into the clearing, a voice that didn't belong to anyone in the area. Suddenly three senbon were stuck in Zabuza's neck, causing him to cough out a weak curse and close his eyes for good. With Zabuza down the owner of the new voice, wearing an intricate Kiri mask, entered the clearing from behind a large tree and strolled over to the body, checking for a pulse. "Thank you for your help Konoha ninja. I'll be taking Zabuza and his sword now." As he reached out to pick up the limp body of the swordsman the mysterious man was assaulted by a wave of chakra and rage.

The surge was felt by everyone there, even the knocked out Zabuza, and caused all eyes to look at the source. Naruko was standing there, her hair up much like her mother's but only in one tail-like gathering. "You better not touch him, you creepy masked bastard! Or his sword!" Taking a step forward she got ready to close the distance.

"Naruko stop, he is a hunter-nin from Kirigakure. His job is to find, eliminate, and return the corpses of nuke-nin belonging to the Kiri village." Kakashi put an exhaustion caused shaking hand on her arm, trying to keep her held back. As the silver haired man looked into her eyes his vision began to dim before he pitched forward, collapsing into the muddy ground. With the release of her arm Naruko looked back at her sensei and began to freak out, completely forgetting about the hunter-nin behind her.

"Then I will take my leave now." Once again the ninja reached for the swordsman and slung one of the man's arms over his shoulders as he retrieved the Kubikiribocho and disappeared before the Namikaze girl could even notice.

"Sasuke, we have to get him to Sakura quick. You take the bag, I'll carry him." With a fluid movement Naruko pulled off the bag that held all of their storage scrolls and gave it to her fellow teen. "If we go straight that way, we should get there in no time." Picking up her teacher gingerly, not wanting to jostle him too much, Naruko was able to get him onto her back and set off. Sasuke was left behind to pick up some of the less expendable weapons before following his blue eyed team mate.

When Sasuke finally found Tazuna's house Sakura was in the middle of giving their teacher a medical examination, her hands alight with a soft green chakra. Naruko was sitting in a chair in the sparsely furnished room, biting her right thumb nail as she watch, before she noticed him there and nodded. As the black haired teen entered the room and sat next to the blonde Sakura finished her assessment. "He just needs some rest. He is mostly just drained of chakra, but he does have some bad cuts." The other two Genin sighed in relief while Sasuke wrapped his arms around the pink haired girl and gave her a quick kiss.

"You mind playing doctor with me later?" Sasuke had developed a habit of using dumb lines in order to make his girlfriend blush.

"Go upstairs if you two want to go do anything, please. I already feel like barfing from that fight." Naruko looked over at her teacher before getting up and going to the bathroom, her face was still covered in blood from the confrontation with the Zabuza clone. 'Hey Yoko-nee? Do you think this is all settled now?'

'No, not yet. That hunter from earlier was odd. He shared certain smells with Zabuza-san.' Yoko knew Naruko wasn't going to ask Sakura to take a look at her nose, so it fell to the chakra girl to bug the blond to do so. 'Things like fresh water and certain herbs. You should have Sakura check your nose, that was a pretty bad hit.'

'I know Yoko-nee, but it is all good. I swear, I think he just got me good.' Naruko filled the sink in the bathroom with water and gently rinsed her face, tinting the once clear water red. Looking at her face in the mirror she made sure all the blood was off before taking a towel and carefully drying her face. "There, good as new." When Naruko returned to the small house's living room, where Kakashi was currently resting, she sat back down and continued her conversation with her sister. 'So what do you think about this then? Was the hunter a fake, or could they just have been hunting Zabuza long enough to pick up some of the same smells?'

'I can't say for sure Naruko. We need to talk to the others and Kakashi-sensei, when he wakes up.' Yoko got a silent agreement from the blonde. 'For now, try and relax. Keep your mind and heart clear, right?' Again she got silent agreement, though this time it was a bit pouty.

Naruko's eyes never left the figure of the sleeping Kakashi. 'How long do you think he will be out for?' The troubled girl felt a small shudder go up her spine. 'Oh come on, I wasn't going to try anything funny. I'm just worried about him.' A silent argument waged on between the two for a few minutes before an exhausted Naruko decided to head to bed. 'We'll talk to everyone in the morning. Tazuna said no one is scheduled to work for another 5 days, so we can use that to check out the island.'

 **Three days later**

Kakashi woke suddenly, sitting up as he took in the barely furnished room. Sakura had been the one watching over Team 7's leader this day, Naruko was just out in a small clearing near the house going through her sword forms while Sasuke had gone into town with Tazuna's daughter for groceries. The pink haired teen spiked her chakra quickly, the signal that the Genin had worked out, when she saw Kakashi wake up. Naruko's response was immediate, she was there and in the room like lightning, her entire body ready for the worst. When she saw the silver haired man was awake she made a shadow clone and sent it into town.

Forty minutes later the entire team was gathered and debriefing their teacher, who was eating a thin soup. Sasuke had taken over as temporary team leader, assigning who would do what on each day, so he was the one delivering the report. "Shortly after you passed out the hunter who claimed Zabuza took the body and his sword, while we prepared to transport you. Naruko carried you here ahead of me and when I arrived Sakura was mid-examination. When completed with her work Sakura said you had some bad cuts, but nothing life threatening, and were suffering from chakra exhaustion."

Kakashi nodded his head as he thought over the report. "The first day after the fight with Zabuza, Naruko sat us all down and brought up the probability that the hunter was actually working with the enemy." The Jonin looked at the blond girl in question as she nervously took over, leaving out how she had noticed some of the supporting details as Sakura did not know about Yoko.

"After sitting down and thinking about the situation I noticed that the hunter and Zabuza seemed to share certain scents. Clean water, similar to a small stream, and some flora as well, mostly herbs of a medicinal variety." Naruko thought back to some of her stealth classes from the academy and how they had covered hunter ninja before. "I also remember hearing that a hunter only takes the head, not the whole body."

Kakashi nodded. "That is right. They only need the head to prove the job is done, and usually destroy the rest. The hunter's weapon is also cause for suspicion, he used senbon." The Genin thought it over but couldn't exactly see why. "They tend to be more for incapacitation. That is due to how thin they are, making it very hard to hit a vital point. Zabuza was most likely put into a death like state to throw us off."

Sasuke cleared his throat after the Genin took their time absorbing that information. "Would you like the rest of the report Sensei?" Kakashi only shook his head and told him not right then.

"From what I can see, Sasuke was chosen to act as the lead until I awoke. Good choice, but I do feel like Naruko could have done it just as easily." The blond teen blushed lightly from the praise. "Sakura was probably primary attendant to me. Has any work been going on at the bridge?" All three shook their heads. "Sakura, what would you say my condition is?"

"Healthy, but you should take two weeks to rest up and recover." The pink haired girl went from meek to confident as soon as the discussion became about her field of study. " And judging by the reports from Naruko and Sasuke, if Zabuza really is alive he will be out for roughly the same amount of time."

"Okay, then in two weeks time we will be fighting Zabuza again, most likely at the bridge." Kakashi looked at his students, each in turn. "During that time you all will be training, starting tomorrow. I will watch over the client while you train under the watchful eye of my shadow clone." The three teens all nodded once in response as their teacher pressed on. "Sasuke, you will work on Taijutsu mostly, as well as some ninjutsu. Sakura, study up on some more medical jutsu as well as genjutsu. Naruko, we will discuss your training privately after dinner."

"Hai, Kakashi-sensei!" All three called out as they broke off to do their own things. Sakura went to go help Tsunami, Tazuna's daughter. Sasuke left to use the clearing Naruko had found on the first day.

"Um, sensei?" Naruko had stayed behind and when Kakashi looked at her lazily she continued. "I want to talk about what happened during the fight. I'm sorry that I interfered, and even helped lead to your capture." She met his eye reluctantly as she apologized. The blond also apologized for stopping her sensei from hurting the man her mother loved. Now came the harder part of the conversation for her, "I also don't think continuing a relationship, physical or emotional, is a good idea. When you got caught I was more worried about you as a lover than as a team mate."

"WHAT?!" Naruko turned her head slowly in fear when she heard the voice behind her. Kakashi's one eye had shot open in horror.

In the threshold of the room stood Sasuke with a slightly mischievous grin on his face and her mother behind him. "K-k-kaa-san, what are you d-doing here? Why aren't you back home?" Naruko was already working out every possible escape root she could, none of which didn't involve blowing a hole in one of the walls. "I...I don't know what you think you heard but it was no..." Her sentence was cut off when she was grabbed by the collar of her jacket and hauled to the upstairs by her furious mother.

"Talk now, or Kakashi will. He is afraid of me, so he will tell everything." Kushina was already cracking her knuckles loudly with her fists pressed into the palms of the opposite hand. Her eyes promised murder and violence, and standing there in her full Jonin attire it was obvious that her eyes did not lie. The Uzumaki head continued to watch her daughter as the blond quivered like a cornered rabbit. "I said talk Naru-chan." Her attitude took so many 180's that it was more like a 540, her eyes now portraying a calm that her voice did not mirror.

'I know that type of calm. SHE IS GOING TO THREATEN MY NOODLES!' Naruko steeled her resolve as much as she could, no longer a trapped animal just a leaf on a windy day. "I don't know what you are talking about Kaa-san." She turned her eyes to her mother's, a sad and innocent look on her face as if she had just been accused of stealing a cookie.

"Don't give me that load of malarkey. I heard you telling Kakashi that keeping up a relationship was a bad idea. What kind of relationship was it? Did he touch you? Did you give him your virginity? I'm going to throw him all the way back to Konoha after this is all do..."

"Mom, calm the fuck down." Naruko never saw her mom move, just felt it when the gloved fist hit the side of her head for swearing. "OOOOOOWWWWW!" The blond rubbed her head tenderly, relaxing the hurt area. "It was a one time thing on our way up here. Things got physical. No, he did not. I lost that about a year ago. Kami this is fucking awkward." Again she was hit. "WHY DO YOU KEEP HITTING ME?!"

"Stop using foul language and I will stop." The red head crossed her arms under her chest, but because of her bulky vest it was hard to tell any difference, and began to tap her right foot on the floor. After almost twenty seconds of silence she snapped. "Well, anything else you need to tell me before I bury your former sensei in the Hokage mountain?"

"Um... It was all my fault? Oh, and Zabuza-san is here." The blue eyed teen decided that was the only other things she could add. "Why are you even here? Isn't it like council demanded you can't leave Konoha without the Hokage with you?

"I don't care if it was Kami's fault, he shouldn't have allowed it to happen. I'm here as the backup that Kakashi asked for in a mission update. I was talking with Hiruzen when the letter came in. Even if those old idiots could make that the case, do you think the council could stop me from...Wait, did you say Zabuza is here? Where?"

"We don't know. He is after our client, and after fighting him off he was taken away by someone who we think was an accomplice pretending to be a hunter ninja." Naruko slowly started to circle around her mother. "I am sure Kakashi-sensei can help fill you in, Zabuza being here was new info after that request for back up."

"Oh, I am going to have a very long talk with your sensei. Now go downstairs and help that nice Tsunami girl make dinner." Kushina stormed out of the room and down the stairs to the living room, followed by her daughter. This time she grabbed Kakashi and dragged him outside. The entire time he was in earshot he moaned and groaned about being injured and how cruel she was being to him.

"Oh you fucked up now blondie." Naruko could hear the mocking smile on Sasuke's voice. He was leaning back on the wall that had Kakashi's former seat on it, and the smile on his face was bigger than she had thought. "Did she make you tell her who your first guy was?"

"Oh shut up pink eye." Naruko suddenly felt exhausted, both physically and mentally. "I do not have the patience to suffer through your award winning douchery."

Chapter End

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Sorry if this chapter feels too short for you. I wanted to get it out there and not let it get too long. Next chapter (through Kushina's eyes) will be the training, with only very few difference from what Kakashi explained here, and the bridge fight. In case anyone is wondering why they aren't going to be doing the tree climbing exercise, it is because they learned it in the Academy, Naruko learned it earlier than that though.

As always, thank you for reading and I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	12. Chapter 12

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

AN: With no real knowledge of how the people of Uzushiogakure fought it is left open to personal opinions. In my story I am thinking of it as a mix of China's Crane, Snake, and Ba Gua styles of kung fu. With this mix it is a bit like Juken from the Hyuuga family, but it utilizes turns and spins to build more power. Ba Gua uses the same principle in order to build a lot of power. Crane is to keep the initial stances wider and the reach a bit longer. Snake is for the strikes and awkward angles a user can hit from. It is my desire for it to draw a similarity to a whirlpool, a powerful force (Ba Gua) that catches with the barest part of its reach (Crane) and then pulls you in where it is harder to resist (Snake).

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Chapter 8: Kushina

Kushina was still dragging Kakashi behind her as she walked through the woods, trying to find a spot far enough away that no one would hear Kakashi scream. After about ten minutes of trudging through the perpetually muddy woods of Wave she stopped, lazily throwing the squirming Jonin in an underarm toss. "Talk Kakashi. What did you do to my daughter?"

"Kushina-san, shouldn't we talk about the mi..." Kakashi started, trying to divert her while he worked on what to say, before being cut off.

"No. I may be here as a Jonin, but I came because it is my daughter's team." The red haired woman crossed her arms slowly, her eyes locked on the silver haired man she had known for years. "Did you really think I wouldn't hear about this happening?" Kakashi nodded. Not a smart move in hindsight for him. The area was flooded with an almost motherly killing intent, like a momma bear.

"H-hai Kushina-san. It was a one time thing, though at the time it was not discussed if it would go past that." Kakashi slowly backed away a bit. "About five days ago we stopped in Koriyo village, at the command of Naruko. While there we stayed in a brothel ca-" Kakashi explained the events leading up to finding his student as he had that evening when the Uzumaki head cut him off again.

"The Golden Garden, it's the only place Naruko would go to in that town." The redhead was nodding slowly, her foot tapping was gentle and slow.

"While there some events occurred, as outlined in the request for backup that I sent to the Hokage. After those events Team 7 and our client met in one room to discuss what happened and why." Moving a hand slowly to the pouch on his lower back he fished out two books, one his ever present orange delight and the other the unmistakable bingo book most ninja carried. He opened the second book to the two pages for the demon brothers and handed the black bound watch list to his senior. "One of those two recognized the way Naruko fought, and even recognized her sword as a smaller version of Zabuza's. This brought more questions which she answered for us." After taking the black book back he put it in his pouch, keeping the orange one in hand and opening it slowly. "After hearing that Naruko wasn't fully trained in the Kubikiribocho's forms I restricted her use to situations of extreme need only."

"That...limitation had a negative effect on her mood, as it is a big part of who she is. That in turn lead her to send a clone back to the room after she left to 'return' a bottle of sake. A few hours later I found her in the main room of the Golden Garden, having woken her up, where she admitted to having consumed most of the sake. She wasn't drunk when I found her but she says that is normal for her." Kushina nodded at that part, her head tilted to the side a bit. "After she confessed to the deed she explained why. That is when she kissed me and things escalated from there." Kakashi didn't want to go into exact details about what happened, and he wasn't made to as Kushina hit him once in the chest.

"Well, it seems like everything else is done, don't let it happen again." Kushina began to walk away, past the masked man back towards the house. Kakashi was shocked and stayed still, waiting for another hit. Just as he turned to follow Kakashi was hit, right as he lowered his guard. "I hope you don't think punishment is over, I'm just waiting till we get back home to let you have it."

The man's visible eye began to shed tears quickly. "Please no Kushina-nee?"

She turned on him with a falsely sweet smile plastered on her face. "Oh, if you want to play that card do it when you haven't slept with my daughter recently. Let's go back, you need to rest so you can train Sasuke and Sakura tomorrow."

"What about Naruko? I told her she would be training too." Kakashi spoke up, not wanting to go back on his word to the blond.

"Not with you, pervert." Kushina huffed as she continued walking back to the house. "I'll work with her while we watch over the work site. You can stay here and help the others."

At dinner Kushina laid out the new plan, only saying that she would be taking Naruko with her for training during bridge guarding and the other Genin would stay with Kakashi around the house. The blond's feeling of dread for the upcoming weeks pulled her stomach into an uneasy frenzy. Using that as an excuse, Naruko was the first to leave for bed. In the room that she and Sakura had been sharing the Namikaze girl found an extra set of possessions that belonged to her mom, if the red hair packed brush was any clue.

 **Next Day**

Kushina was the first in the entire house to wake up. Naruko was the next as her mother dragged the lightly snoring girl, futon and all, down the stairs. "OWWWWWW. WHO THE FUCK DID THAT?!" The blond yelled as she gripped her head from having it bounced off the stairs unceremoniously, only to be hit in the arm as an answer.

"Quiet down or you will wake everyone up." Kushina looked down at her daughter, eyes daring her to speak up. "You are going to help me make breakfast, and while we do that you will tell me about your run in with Zabuza." The older of the Uzumaki family's two women then turned around and walked into the kitchen. "But first I want you to tell me what you and Kakashi did, in detail. I need to know how badly to beat him when we get back to Konoha."

"I would rather not. That is way too embarrassing Kaa-san. Why do you think I didn't tell you about my first time?" Naruko begrudgingly followed her mother who was already getting out the things needed to make breakfast.

"Do you mean your first time with the Akimichi boy, or with Hinata?" Looking over at her shocked/appalled daughter made the redhead laugh. "You weren't exactly quiet in either case. Why do you think I got you and Sasuke those silencing seal slips?" Now Naruko was blushing furiously as she tried to steady herself. "You are great at stealth Naru dear, but horrible with volume control."

"Please stop Kaa-san, I'll die of shame at this rate." The crying plea of Naruko was weak and fragile, she had been made exceedingly uncomfortable when she heard all that. "Why attack my ego too? Kaka-sensei was right, you are overly cruel."

"Hahaha, she knew the whole time." Both women looked through the threshold into the dinning room and found Sasuke sitting at the table, a smirk on his face. His quirked lips only grew further apart into a large stupid grin when he saw Naruko go beet red. Again the black haired teen laughed, as he got to his feet he turned around and left the house to start a light warmup.

Turning back to her mother, Naruko begged again. "Please can we save this till we are home or something?"

"When we get to the bridge we'll talk." Kushina's tone held some remorse but not enough that the blond would think she could put it off somehow. The Uzumaki matron returned to her original task of making breakfast. Naruko was given dishes, silverware, and other things to set the table. When Naruko was done with her task she went to leave but was dragged back into the small kitchen to start washing the cookware that the redhead was done with. The blond made a shadow clone to do it but had it popped immediately. Sighing the teen got to work and finished just as her team's client came down the stairs, the last to wake up.

After the meal had broken up Sakura went to help Tsunami with the plates while the rest of the Konoha ninja met outside. Kakashi took the lead. "We all know what we are doing today, I will be here with Sakura and Sasuke to help them. Kushina-san will be with Tazuna and Naruko at the bridge." He watched his three Genin nod their understanding, and smiled at them.

"Nope none of the Kakashi." Kushina called out, ruining the pride he felt. When she looked at the confused Sakura she amended her statement. "The training is still fine, but you know what I am talking about right Kakashi?" Her answer was his silent nod and hands up, already declaring his submission. "Good."

Sasuke leaned over to his pink haired teammate. "I'll tell you later at lunch," he whispered in her ear before kissing her once on the cheek. She returned the kiss and whispered her okay.

Kakashi made a clone to work with his male student, the Uchiha was going to work on his ninjutsu at a basic level for a while before being thrown into sparring with the silver haired man. "We will be working on your current skills, as well as getting your Sharingan to manifest. It could be very helpful in a few weeks." With the original Kakashi turning to the pink haired teen of his team he handed her a few scrolls with the markings for Med classed jutsu. "I will work with you personally when it comes to genjutsu, for now read those so you at least know the proper procedures for them. When you are done with that we will work on your chakra augmentation."

Slapping a hand down on her daughter's shoulder Kushina turned to the Namikaze girl. "Let's go Naru dear, can't keep Tazuna waiting." She turned around and began to walk down the path with Tazuna falling into line beside her.

"But what are we going to be working on?" The blond asked when she had caught up with her mother. The red haired member of the Uzumaki family gave her a simple look and told her to just wait. When they got to the bridge they found a group of civilians trying to get past a group of about thirteen thugs. When the assembled henchmen saw the two hitai-ate of the Konoha ninja most of them ran for it, only one chose to stay behind. He was dressed in a dingy men's shirt that was on the large side for his build with plain pants. On his hip was a sword in a worn scabbard, gouges and other marks bit deep into the matte black wood.

'Probably uses a bastardized two sword style, with the scabbard to block.' Naruko thought to herself as she looked him over. 'No real defined build either, maybe more of a random cut and stab guy?'

"I work for Gato. My name is..." The man started to say before he was cut off. Kushina had stepped forward and slapped a silencing tag over his throat, keeping the words from forming despite his mouth moving. The red head then grabbed the man by his head and slammed him back into the ground.

"I don't care what your name is, how long you have been a fighter, or anything like that." Seeing that the man had been knocked out from the one time she caused him any harm Kushina tied him up and disarmed him. "He'll be able to tell us something later on at least." Looking at her daughter she pulled out the only scroll she had brought with her and unsealed the contents. She then handed the released supplies to the blond. "Read those and then work on your calligraphy. We are going to work on your seal skills for now." Naruko groaned at the thought of working with seals. "If we can get them to improve I will show you how Minato made the Hiraishin. After that, we will work on your sword forms. I'm not letting you go rusty when they can be the deciding factor against our opponent." Both of the later mentioned trainings cheered up the only living Namikaze instantly.

A few hours later, while Team 7's heiress was eating lunch, a yell of shock was heard from the direction of Tazuna's home. The blond was pulled back to The Here when her mother called to her. "On your feet Naruko, we're going to warm up with some quick taijutsu." Kushina demanded as she stretched out her arms and then kicked out her legs, loosening her muscles up. The blond started sweating as soon as she thought about it. She knew her mother was just as chakra packed, if not more so, and with stamina that hands down was greater.

"I think I feel sick Kaa-san. We should hold off on that, besides I still have a lot more reading to do." Trying to use logic was never any help against Kushina.

"And you need to move. It helps you process what you learn. You've been like that since Zabuza started teaching you." The blond growled a bit to herself. Leave it to her to get trapped like that. With a huff she got up, stretching as well. Once she was ready Kushina lead the way to a small clearing where the bridge was still within sight and earshot. The redhead took up a stance her daughter only knew was from one of the Uzu fighting styles. The teen followed suit, slipping into the Kiri style she preferred.

In an instant Kushina was gone and then back right in front of her daughter. Bringing her right arm out and around, the fingers gathered similar to a Hyuuga's Juken but her arms spread wide and kept in a slight curve. The younger of the two brought her left arm up and curled her body together, keeping herself on one leg. The fingers hit the blond in the shoulder, jamming the socket together. As soon as the hit landed, even though it was blocked, Kushina spun around and tucked herself lower, sweeping her daughter's leg out from under her. The redhead disengaged and allowed the heiress to get ready again.

Again mother charged at daughter, this time she started out low, letting her bring the first strike up through her daughter's guard. Naruko jumped back when she realized what her fellow ninja was trying to do. "Good dear. Keep on your toes. Uzushio taijutsu was all about bringing big movements into small ones, and keeping all the power from the wind ups." This time it was the blond who made the first move. Using her slightly greater speed she closed in behind the mature woman and drove an elbow into the thick back of the vest, forcing the redhead to stumble forward. Kushina caught herself and turned around, still ready. "Well this is our chance to talk Naru dear. Just what did you and Kakashi do together?"

Naruko shook her head, forgetting to keep an eye on her mother. Kushina used that to close the distance and, while in a crouching backspin, pulled Naruko's right leg forward which forced the blond into a kneeling position. Naruko shifted to her left, dropping to the ground in order to evade a strike from her left. "Ugh, I don't see why you care, but we did a few things." The blond pushed herself up and forward as she shifted around her mother's jab as she put her own foot behind her mothers and kicked it out, only for the redhead to shift her balance to the one stable leg and turn.

"I'm your mother, it is my job." Kushina said straight faced as she got out of her stance. She walked over to the edge of the clearing. "Now what is the easiest way to discover an unfamiliar seal's purpose?"

"Depends on the form of the seal itself, however it is usually to go in a counterclockwise spiral. If that doesn't work then you have to study it point by point. Otou-san's Hiraishin was far more complex as it had just a line of text, however that line used slightly different colored symbols hidden in the main body to remain undetected." With a sigh of annoyance and rubbing a hand through her hair Naruko sat down with her mother on a fallen tree. "Fine, but you can't hold what sensei and I did against him." For the next hour she went over most of the details about that night, starting with the same info about being told her preferred weapon was to be a last resort. She then went through the more intimate details, avoiding things like how many times either of them climaxed or how big Kakashi was.

After it was all out in the open Naruko was red from the embarrassment and less than willing to remain seated. Choosing to spare her daughter any further discomfort the Uzumaki matron handed her another book on fuinjutsu and stepped away. Naruko grumpily opened the book, finding it to actually be a notebook used by her father to keep track of his sealing discoveries and methods. Realizing what she was holding gave her a new wave of inspiration in the study, especially when she realized that she was just having difficulty with properly charging the seals like her father and how he had gotten around it.

After another slow hour the bridge's crew was released for the day. On the return to Tazuna's house the three passed through the town area to pick up some things, including vegetables and some fish. Kushina insisted on paying more than was asked, trying to help out the saleswoman. As they left the town Naruko and Kushina discussed Team 7's run in with the wielder of the Kubikiribocho. "He wasn't as muscular as I remember Kaa-san. I think being on the run has left him slightly malnourished. He also wasn't keeping to the forms, but I know for sure it was really Zabuza-otou-san." The red haired woman nodded her head as she listened agreeing that always being on the run usually left a nuke-nin weaker than their best.

When everyone was back at the house the Genin discussed their day and what they learned while Kushina and Kakashi discussed anything that related to the mission. At dinner Naruko spoke up, "Why don't we eliminate Gato before a second attack? With out a client Zabuza has no job, and therefore no income." Kushina had thought of the same thing earlier but had not figured out how they could even find the tyrannical tycoon's hideout. "Hey Old Man Tazuna, does Nami have any brothels or clubs?" Again it was Naruko who brought up the idea. As an infiltration and stealth specialist she knew some of the best ways to work her way into a problem was to 'have some fun' and get noticed by a target.

"No, you are not infiltrating Gato's merry band of scum. You need to be ready for when Zabuza strikes again." Kushina said in a calm anger, her voice carrying the demand. Naruko nodded, saying she hadn't planned to. Her plan was to actually have Kushina go in, that way if Zabuza had passed on any info it wouldn't include her and if she happened to find the swordsman he would be even more willing to listen and help. Kakashi nodded his head, seeing the logic behind his blond student's words. Kushina was not willing to play along with the idea though, shaking her head, and claiming that there was usually months of planning and intel gathering before even trying a seduction infiltration. "Besides, every infiltration on this scale needs a two people approach, and I am not putting any Genin or civilian into that situation where I may not be able to protect them."

With a poof and a clearing of smoke everyone turned to the sound, looking at Naruko. She had used a quick henge to look like a slightly younger version of her mother. "Like this I can pass for 25. And if you use the henge too, not that you need it you can pass for around three years older. Then we act as sisters visiting from somewhere like Land of Iron or somewhere else and we get in." Naruko released the transformation and looked her mother in the eyes. When the older woman went to object because Naruko was still too inexperienced the blond countered. "I grew up in Koriyo Kaa-san, and this is part of my expertise. I can handle knocking out a few dim bulbed mercs." In a silent stalemate the two tried to stare each other down, their silent argument going for so long that they went blue while holding their breath.

"It isn't a bad idea Kushina, and I know she can defend herself against most superior ranked enemies." Kakashi looked between them both as each started breathing again. 'Both of them are so alike it is scary.'

The redhead threw her arms up as she screamed and refilled her lungs with air, giving in as she saw no way of actually winning this argument. "Fine. Only one time, we get in, gather info, get out and then we prepare for the fight with Zabuza." All of the Konoha ninja nod as they go over it. "I want this done right, so we will be in communication. Naruko and I will be team A. Kakashi, Sasuke, and Sakura; Team B." Again everyone nodded. "Team B will shadow Team A to the hideout and remain well hidden, taking any notes they can from the outside. I want the number of mercenaries this rat has on his payroll, how many ninja ex or otherwise. When we can afford one I also want a clone following him to see if he has any other plans, like betrayal."

"That is all standard info gathering Kaa-san. Even Sakura knows that from our classes' joint exercises. Sasuke may not, but that is because he never showed up for joint classes." Naruko said as she stuck her tongue out at the annoyed Uchiha, Kushina had not been told about him skipping classes. "I'll provide the clone. I have the most chakra for it so I can make it last all day."

"Then we put this plan into effect tomorrow night. Tazuna-san, where would we be able to draw the most attention without causing a scene?" Kushina asked as Naruko got up from the table and walked off to the room she shared with the redhead and her female teammate. The blond came back about 10 minutes later, carrying two slightly larger than her usual scrolls in her arms. Both were cream colored scrolls, but one had a red binding on it while the other had a wax seal on it with the Uzumaki spiral pressed into the light blue wax. With a slight huff she put them both on the table and opened the red scroll first. Inside were several storage seals with a list of contents next to each. She wrote down a list of needed items and what seals the were in before handing it to Kakashi.

"Kaa-san." The blond drew her mother's attention as she slid the Uzumaki scroll towards her. "You need to open that one, but we can't do it here." When she noticed the questioning looks from her team she shrugged. "Clan secrets, sorry."

After relocating themselves outside, the sun setting to Naruko's left and Kushina's right, the two Uzumaki clan members found a dry section of grass and opened the scroll. Inside were Uzumaki style seals ranging from storage to imprisonment. Each seal looked roughly the same except for one or two markings being different. "I think if we take a few of these," Naruko starts as she points to the tenth seal in, "we could keep most of Gato's men subdued. And we could always use a few of the Genjutsu ones to keep them distracted at least." Her and moved from the tenth seal design, one that created a paralysis effect in the body, to the seventh after it.

Kushina nodded her head and looked at the seals in question. "But how will we apply them. It would be too obvious that something is wrong if we start drawing on people or putting paper tags on them." Naruko nodded her head in agreement before answering.

"Otou-san could use his own chakra to make the Hiraishin seal with out ink or anything else right?" The Habanero nodded her head. "Well I think I figured out how he did it. After reading his journal a bit I found a hint to it." Thinking carefully, Naruko brought the design for the simplest Uzumaki storage seal to mind before focusing chakra to the palm of her hand in the familiar swirls and strokes, but in reverse, and placed the hand on her left shoulder. The effect was immediate as thick black lines took shape on her shoulder. When she was done she carefully took a kunai from her holster and pressed it to the seal as she applied chakra to the black marks. Suddenly the kunai was gone in a puff of smoke before it was brought back out. "See? It takes a bit more effort because you have to flip the end result, but it works."

Kushina stared at her daughter carefully, shocked but happy. "I'm glad to see your tou-san could still teach you something. Even if he isn't here." Her happiness faltered slightly as she remembered the first man she had come to love so much. "I know he would be endlessly proud of you." The redhead slowly took her daughter in a gentle hug and gave her daughter a soft squeeze before wiping her right eye. "Tomorrow while we are at the bridge we will work on your speed and skill with this. After we get in to Gato's little group you will be in charge of immobilizing them while I look for any sign of Zabuza."

Chapter End

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A/N: Sorry about the long wait between posts. I was away for a weekend, didn't help that I had some personal misgivings about this chapter (always wanting to go back and undo one thing to do something else that I disliked more than the original). Next chapter I will do a bit of glossing over "Operation Rat-catcher" where the two Uzumaki clan members try to get into Gato's base. Then a bit of a skip into the Battle of the Bridge so there can be some surprise during it.

Thank you for reading everyone.


	13. Chapter 13

Naruko: A Story Redone

By: dbrame91

AN: To the rude guest(s) who left comments like "Pathetic.. you are Stupidtly biased with Female Naruto x Sasuke" or "That was stupid" please be a bit more helpful in your comments. I am not saying only post positive things, just explain what you are saying, such as what makes me "Stupidtly biased"?

By biased I assume you mean showing "an inclination of temperament or outlook; _especially_ : a personal and sometimes unreasoned judgement." All I said was that I refused to do that pairing. It has nothing to do with personal reasons. There are tons of SasukeXfemNaruto stories and I have read a few that I love. However I do have reasons for wanting to not do it, none of which are I don't like Sasuke or I don't like the pairing.

There, I said what I needed to say, and did it in 135 words without being whiny or overly rude.

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Chapter 9: Naruko

Getting in was easy for the two "sisters." After Naruko and Kushina had planned out every step, and made sure the rest of Team 7 had what they needed, they all began their approach. The two Uzumaki women went the long way around, giving the second Jonin and other Genin the chance to set up outside of the bar closest to what is believed to be Gato's hideout. Naruto had chosen a tight fitting strapless black dress, and matching heels. The outfit was normal clothing from the Land of Iron. Kushina had put on a thigh length red dress, something back from her time at the Golden Garden.

When the pair walked into the bar no one was around except a few of the tyrant's lesser goons and the two bartenders. One bartender was an older man and the second was his young daughter. When Naruko and Kushina stepped inside the thugs were harassing the woman behind the bar, grabbing at her and making rude remarks. As soon as the present men looked over and saw the disguised Uzumakis they stopped. The men started to laugh and talk amongst themselves, their eyes rarely leaving the "sisters."

Not long after two of the men, most likely the uncontested leaders, joined the the two new comers at the table they had taken. Naruko fell into her role right away, telling their story about being sisters from the Land of Iron on vacation and looking for some fun. Kushina flirted with the guy who sat next to her, she laid it on a little thicker than Naruko. After a few rounds, the ladies barely drinking theirs before the men ordered the next round, the guys started to get handsy. About twenty minutes later Naruko and Kushina convinced the thugs to take them to the base for more fun. Both of the Konoha ninja played drunk and giddy, helping to throw off any suspicion.

The group lead them deep into the woods, where there was a secluded mansion. One of the drunk men unlocked a side door that Naruko marked with chakra to act as a beacon for her team. Everything up till then had gone according to plan, however even the best plan could go wrong. Shortly after they had gotten inside they ran into Gato and his personal body guards, all three of which chose to take the younger of the two instead of Kushina. The plan had been for Kushina to go off with Gato while Naruko took care of the thugs and mercenaries.

Now Naruko was in Gato's office with the three men. She had two options as far as she could see; play along and let everything stay peaceful, or take action and eliminate the other occupants in the room. 'Don't try it Naruko-nee. Kaa-san said this was gather intel and get out.' Naruko sighed slightly as she slipped back into her role of drunk and horny woman from the Land of Iron. If she couldn't kill these men she could at least impair them as she did her job.

"Oh wow! This room is amazing." Naruko was looking around the room, studying everything she could; possible escapes, expensive objects that could be looted and sold, etc. As she looked around she flared a slight pulse of chakra, checking for any seals. Thankfully Gato didn't trust ninja too much and had gone without the chakra packed markings. "You must be really powerful if you have all this incredible pieces. Are you related to a daimyo?" The disguised blond sat on a plush red couch, big enough for five people to share, right next to the diminutive man. As she sat she crossed her legs at the knee, making the motion slow and obvious, and put a hand on Gato's shoulder.

One of the body guards sat on her other side and slowly ran a hand up her side, his fingers faintly brushing along the side of her full chest. She cooed slightly at the touch, forcing her usual honied voice into the sound. Taking the sound as approval the man snaked his arm around her flat stomach and began to play with her chest through the dress. She pressed herself closer to the tyrant and kept her focus on him. "I bet you are the richest man in the entire Elemental Nations."

Being the ego possessed man he was Gato loved to talk about his wealth, and the power that came with it. With a chuckle and a smile that failed to portray what he wanted it to, though he thought it worked, he started to rant on and on about how even the daimyos were poor compared to him. He continued to go on about how he hires ninja with bounties so he can turn them over to hunter ninja, for a cut of the bounty and without paying them what he owes. He also admitted to having hired one of Kiri's Seven Swordsmen and was already trying to contact his former village to betray him.

Naruko leaned in closer, breathing softly onto Gato's neck. The mix of booze and warmth on her breath as well as her soft sultry voice drew him in more as his body guards switched places. "How about we have some drinks?" Naruko pulled away from Gato slightly and got up, heading over to the large glass bottle and fancy glasses. When she got to the little table she found it was a small wooden cupboard filled with an assortment of drinks that she only knew of from her classes or Jiraiya. As she read the labels she looked for higher proof drinks, and settled on a clear drink that looked like water with very little smell to it, but the label was one of the highest in the wooden box.

With a quick movement she stood up straight and brought the bottle over in one hand while she had some glasses in the other. 'All I have to do is keep them drinking and acting like a girl from a hostess club. They'll be out like lights.' As she walked back over to the couch she stepped slowly, her hips swinging slightly, drawing the men's eyes. "Aren't you afraid of that Zabuza guy? Ninja are such brutes, and they are all so scary. Aren't they?" The false redhead asked with fear in her tone. Gato laughed it off and said that he wasn't afraid, especially since the ninja he hired was currently recovering from a fight as well as too dependent on the short man for his income. Naruko poured drinks for the men and watched them all take the first drink. "Can we go see him? I want to see you put him in his place. Such a powerful man like you should be able to do that easily."

After a few more rounds of alcohol the men agreed to head out to the ninja's hideout, a ten minute walk from Gato's mansion. Before they left Naruko excused herself to the bathroom and wrote a two notes, one for her mother and one for Zabuza. Kushina's told her about where to find Gato's office and what was happening. Zabuza's was a warning for the planned betrayal. Once the ink on her notes was dried she stepped out of the bathroom and followed the tyrant and his lackeys, stopping to give Kushina her note along the way and seeing her mother had been using the same plan as her of hostessing her targets until they blacked out.

The walk was easy for her, though Gato had been carried through some of the more rocky or root dense parts. The second body guard had offered to carry her as well but she politely declined. As they walked she thought over what tools she had brought with her; a small armory of her preferred kunai in a storage seal on her right thigh, just covered by her dress, as well as a lock pick buried between her breasts. When they got to the hideout Gato slammed open the door, calling out in a drunken bravado. The group of four went up the stairs of the building and opened a door on the right side of an undecorated hallway. 'Be careful Naruko-nee. That fake hunter is here too.' Naruko gratefully thanked her chakra doppleganger and entered the room, with Gato in front of her.

A short exchange occurred between the business man and Zabuza, ending with Gato striking Zabuza in what looked like a recently stitched chest wound. Instinctively Naruko clenched her fists, ready to destroy the small man for hurting her father figure, however right as she was about to go for him she was grabbed from behind. A strong but gentle grip was on the back of her neck, a left hand, and then three senbon pressed against her throat. 'Damn he is stealthy.' Naruko slowly opened her hands and touched the seal on her right thigh, calling out one of her flat blades with no smoke before she palmed it carefully. 'I don't want to fight if I don't have to. This is a bad situation for me.'

"Haku, let the tramp go. There is no honor in trying to kill some woman who probably came from a brothel in the Land of Fire." The hand and weapons were gone as quickly as they had come. Zabuza's comment was too purposeful for Haku not to notice. If the injured man said "trying to kill" it was for a reason, he probably thought that Haku would lose if it came to a fight, but why would he assume she was from the Land of Fire or a brothel? He could somewhat understand the Land of Fire part, seeing as how there were four ninja from Konoha on the island.

Naruko picked up on both parts also, and understood them. 'Well cover is blown, but only to him.' She reacted as any civilian would when she was freed, her hand going to her neck and throat checking if she had been cut. Forcing her voice out shakily she retorted. "My older sister and I are from the Land of Iron, not Fire. Not that I suspect some ninja to care." Naruko gingerly let go of her neck and looked over at a still startled Gato. 'He's still shocked from that non-situation?' She hurried over to him, helping fix his tiny tailored tyrant tux as she dropped her note for Zabuza in the bed ridden man's open and exposed hand. The movements only noticed by Zabuza and Haku. "We should go Gato-san. This brute is obviously too idiotic for your great plans."

As the group left and closed the door behind them Haku turned to his master. "Why did you want me to let the whore go? I could have easily killed them all with no issue."

Zabuza laughed, a rare and often scary occurrence. "Haku, that is the blond Konoha girl. And my telling you to let her go was as much a message to her as you." The bandaged man shook his head as he sighed. "She chose a disguise that looked like her mother, and she said she had a sister? I doubt it would be the pink haired girl, seduction is too far from that one's comfort. Maybe she means that Ku..." He laughed more, louder and longer, before continuing. "As for why to let her go, there are two reasons. First is she could beat you, I trained her myself back when she was living in a brothel with her mother. Second reason being she is like a daughter to me. And it does not matter if you are a tool, a brother, or a son to me, I would end you for hurting her." Considering the discussion over Zabuza then read the note and growled to himself. "Change of plans Haku. We kill that rat at the construction site, and then we take every ryo we can carry."

About fifteen minutes after leaving the Kiri ninjas' hideout Naruko and the three men returned to Gato's mansion. Naruko sent a quick chakra pulse, giving her mother and team a heads up that she was back. The body guards and Gato ushered her back to the lavish office where Naruko began to once again poor them drinks until they passed out. That hadn't happened until several rounds in, and was around the same time that Gato told her that he wanted her to put on a show for him, with the aid of his body guards. With a mental shiver Naruko thought, 'ICK! This little scum ball can't even get it up without his body guards around?' Externally she agreed before pumping all the men with more alcohol as the thugs started to undress her, though they didn't even finish getting her dress off before they were all blacked out. "Haha. I'm too good at this." Naruko looked around the room a little more. 'Hey, Yoko-nee? You think we should loot the place a little?' She asked her companion as she looked around, her eyes stopping on a chunk of molded gold. 'Oh Kami. That fucker is so pretentious he has a golden bust of himself in his office.'

'I think that is a whole statue of himself Naruko-nee. It even has tiny legs.' The red haired fox girl laughed from inside her room, currently modeled after a sun warmed valley with trees offering shade when she wanted it, a small stream with clean water, and large patches of bright warm sunlight that were perfect for Yoko's phantom style of sunbathing. With a big stretch the chakra girl yawned happily and flopped down onto her back, absorbing what her sister saw through their connection. 'It would be worth a lot, but I think we should take that framed title of ownership behind his chair. Only if it is for his company, then we can do what we want with it and say he gave it to you last night as a 'gift'.' The fox giggled a bit as she arched her back and wiggled out of her kimono to take in the fake sun's rays. 'Make sure you knock before you come in okay?'

Naruko sighed and agreed, laughing at the weird relationship they shared. Looking at the title that Yoko had pointed out, Naruko found that it was indeed for Gato Shipping. She took it from the wall and out of the frame before she rolled it up carefully and hid it in her thigh storage seal. Just as the document was put away a knock came with a spike of chakra, Kushina warning her and waiting for a reply. Naruko made a clone to open the door as she quickly worked on a copy of the paper she had just stolen, using wrong identifying numbers so there would be less notice of it being missing. When Kushina entered the room Naruko gave her a quick rundown of her part in the mission before both mother and daughter left the mansion, Naruko's clone staying behind to act as a spy.

Once Naruko and her mother were outside the rest of Team 7 joined them and they dispelled their sister disguises. The group of five talked as they moved, taking to the trees as soon as they could. "I stayed behind while Naruko was lead to where Zabuza and the fake hunter are. During that time I drugged any drinks that I gave to the thugs." Kushina started telling her side of tonight's events. "Once they were out I looked around and drew up a map of the inside. There are also a few key objects I feel that we should take when we bring this issue to a close." The natural red-haired woman said as she took a jump into the lead of the group, followed closely by Kakashi, then Sasuke, with both Naruko and Sakura hanging back a bit. The two Genin lost in there own conversation.

As the two Jonin continued there briefings Naruko was breaking down what she had seen of Zabuza's state. "He had a large wound across his chest, like a sword cut. It had been stitched over but still looked a little tender, with pink almost red coloring to it." She landed on a branch just under the one Sakura used, neither branch being enough to hold them both. "Other than that he seemed to be in good health, one arm a little more limp than it should have been though."

"The chest wound could have been from that Daibakufu jutsu you used to break up him and Kakashi-sensei. Recent stitching is either they just got the supplies needed or he popped the old ones. The coloration is either infection, though it doesn't sound too bad, or it was a recent stitch job and the area is irritated." Sakura sighed a bit, the person who was caring for the rogue ninja knew what they were doing, but it seemed to all be the rush job field-learned procedure instead of clean and organized hospital methods. "His arm could still be recovering from mild paralysis when he had gotten hit by the senbon. There are a few nerves around the shoulder that when hit right react like that."

Seeing his two female students hanging back and having their own discussion Kakashi fell back, letting them catch up. "Your mom is done with her report Naruko what did you do while you were in there?"

The sudden presence of his voice surprised both girls, with Naruko going a slight pink from a feeling of awkwardness. "I planted a Kage Bunshin as a spy. In order to incapacitate Gato and his two bodyguards I used the same method as Kaa-san, just no drugging the drinks. I also met with Zabuza and warned him via note about the planned betrayal by that sleazy little rat. I noted a few more things worth robbing him of in his office. For now I only took the proof of ownership document he kept in his office, and made a copy with wrong identifiers." She sighed a bit as she forced her blush to dissipate. "You are now looking at the current owner of Gato Shipping." Naruko chuckled a bit before sticking herself to the underside of a tree branch with her hands and chakra, using it to swing herself to the next tree like a monkey.

Sakura, picking up on Naruko's initial embarrassment to be around Kakashi, gave her quick diagnosis of her team's main problem and claimed they would have about another week before he was back to full health. Satisfied with the information, the silver haired ex-ANBU caught up again with Kushina to begin planning for their defense of the bridge site. "Naruko, I heard what happened from Sasuke." When Naruko looked at her with a blank stare Sakura continued. "You need to talk to sensei again. Just because you two slept together back in Koriyo doesn't mean things should be awkward for either of you."

"Th-things aren't awkward at all. I already talked to him. It wasn't a good idea to keep anything like that going, be it just good sex or an actual relationship...WAIT, Sasuke told you? That ass!" Naruko began fuming while Sakura giggled a bit and kept up with the blond. Switching moods instantly Naruko returned her attention to the team medic. "So we mutually agreed to not do anything else. It is too dangerous for us to be involved like that."

"Especially with the Red Hot Habanero for a mother huh?" Sakura smiled a bit, trying to relax the other teen. 'So sensei was good in bed?' The pinkette thought to herself about it before shaking her head. 'What does it matter? I have the best boyfriend ever, heir to a clan or not.' When Sakura saw Naruko's agreement about her mother being dangerous for any relationship the medic smiled and slung herself over the blond's back. "Can you carry me Naruko? I'm tired." As she said it her arms snaked around to the front of Naruko's neck and she began to feign sleep. Both lost their rhythm because of this and crashed to the muddy ground below, Naruko taking the full impact before both got back on their feet, looked at each other and laughed. "Sorry about that."

Back at the front of the group, when Kakashi sped back up Kushina glared at him. "I don't remember saying you could go near Naruko yet." The team's sensei shrugged his shoulders and just explained he was getting her story on the events of the evening. "Mhm. Just remember, I'm putting you in the ground when we get back to the village." Kushina turned her attention back towards her daughter in time to see Sakura grab onto the blond and for them both to fall from the trees. "Naruko, Sakura! Hurry up! You still have training tomorrow."

Both girls caught up with their group, Naruko brushing off mud as they jumped. As soon as the girls were back with the others the group jumped into the clearing with Tazuna's home. Most of the group went inside, Naruko being told by her mother to jump into the pond nearby to clean up before coming in. Once they were all inside they sat at the dinning room table, each one taking a side of the rectangular table with Kakashi standing in the threshold with his orange book in hand. "So should we change the training methods?" Kushina looked around the table, waiting to see if Kakashi felt the situation called for harder training or not.

"I think you should take Sakura with you for now, Kushina-nee. I am still trying to force out Sasuke's Sharingan and need every second I can get." Kushina nodded as Kakashi read his book slowly. The constant presence of the book was making her angry, hoping he would take the discussion seriously.

"Okay, but I am no good at medical jutsu. I can probably only help her with her strength augmented by chakra." Kakashi nodded as he thought it over. He knew the basic principles but had only ever seen the practice once, Kushina on the other hand had experience taking that type of punch as the Sannin woman used to be her Jonin instructor. Taking a look at the pink haired teen Kushina thought it over. "She doesn't have as much chakra as Tsunade so it will have to be done in bursts, instead of constant flow like Naruko does running.

Kakashi nodded, he had thought about that too. "Can you do anything to help her increase her reserves?" Kakashi didn't want to rush the process, especially as Sakura would have to keep working on her control as she developed more chakra, and would need the time to work on both.

"With out exhausting what she does have every day? No." Naruko was bored and dozing in her chair while Sasuke was staring off into space. "I could help with that after this mission, but no real improvement would be made until the Chunin exams even if I started right now." Naruko got up to excuse herself, unwillingly making her the next subject.

"What about Naruko?" Kakashi asked as he looked up from his book. "She should train with more than just you. She needs the experience of seeing different styles."

"Kakashi-sensei, shut up. Kaa-san is not likely to agree. Besides I also spar with Ero-sennin when he is around, and he always fights differently." Naruko looked at her teacher, worried for his life when it sounded like he was saying he should train her for a day. "I'm used to seeing different ways to fight. Plus if Sakura is with Kaa-san and I, she can practice with me too."

"You're both right. Naruko should train with more than just me, but she isn't going to for now. I'm trying to help with her sealing, I want to see if she can work it in with her Mizutou-ken*." Kushina looked between her daughter and the girl's teacher. Naruko slumped back into her seat sighing as she threw her head back. The blond began grumbling and moaning to herself about seals and how annoying it was to always have people forcing their study on her. "If it doesn't look like she can then you can have her for one day to help put pressure on Sasuke. That usually helps unlock his clan's eyes. Or at least that was what Mikoto told me once."

Kakashi nodded his head, agreeing to the terms. "And as I have already said, I will take Sasuke to help him figure out the Sharingan."

Kushina nodded before stretching, "Now what should we do about the construction site when Zabuza does show up again?" The redhead slowly shifted her shoulders, forcing them to pop audibly. "Naruko and I know how Zabuza fights, so I think we should do that while you help Sasuke and Sakura with that masked guy. If you can get Sasuke's dojutsu to manifest Naruko and he should take the Hunter. That way Sakura is also free to cover Tazuna."

"Haku. That was the name Zabuza called the Hunter by when he tried to attack me tonight." Naruko looked up as she talked. "He seems to hate killing or hurting people. He could have killed everyone in the room without us noticing, but he grabbed me and used me as a hostage before Zabuza told him to let go." The blond's hand went to her neck as she rubbed it gently. "He didn't even grip that hard. I think he was pressing a nerve or something."

"Having more than one person against Zabuza is a bad idea Kaa-san. He will feel cornered and like he needs to fight." Naruko looked at her mother. "You should be the one to go against him, he would never hurt you." Kushina had to agree with that, she knew the man wouldn't even pick up his weapon in front of her. "We will plan for Kakashi-sensei, Sasuke, and I to fight the hunter. And I will act as backup for you if you do need it."

With that out of the way all of the Konoha ninja left the dinning room and went to sleep. When Naruko started to get comfy Kushina pulled her in close, pressing them together. In a soft whisper she calmed the blond. "It's just me Naruko. I don't like having to fight Zabuza at all." Naruko nodded her head slowly. She understood what her mother meant. It felt like turning on your family to her. "We just need to keep this from going wrong." Again the blond nodded her head.

"Yeah, and we will bring him to Konoha no matter what." She relaxed into her mother a little bit more and sighed softly. "Now get to sleep, you have two hormonally unhinged teens to teach tomorrow. And one of them has no idea what she is in for." Mother and daughter laughed softly as they heard Sakura grumble, half awake, telling them to shut up.

 **Next morning at the bridge**

Naruko had brought her last gift from Zabuza with her to the bridge. Standing at one end, away from most of the workers she practiced her drills. She started with the first scroll going over every little step, including where her fingers should be resting on the hilt. At about 10 o'clock she was already finishing the 5th of the seven scrolls. The sixth scroll focused on using the hole in the blade as an alternate grip and center point for her swings. As she practiced Sakura looked on from the clearing where Kushina was currently beating the ever loving snot out of her.

"Come on Sakura, if a medic is the last person on a team alive or able bodied then they need to be able to defend and heal." Kushina struck the pink haired teen in the shoulder, forcing the joint out of place just enough to weaken the girl's guard. "As the medic it is your job to stay alive." Noticing where her trainee's eyes were Kushina added on, "And don't let yourself get distracted, especially when you are trying to revive or help a teammate." This time the head of the Uzumaki clan brought a knee into the elbow of the already injured arm, forcing it up and away from the girl.

"Kaa-san, give her a break. Sakura has never seen Uzushio fighting styles." Naruko was standing under a few trees, her back to the bridge when she was suddenly shoved forward. Turning around she found one of her mother's clones behind her, smiling wickedly.

"Oh really? Then do you want to come at me together?" Kushina laughed as she got ready, placing herself between her daughter and the other teen. Naruko was first to act, jumping at her mother with her arms and legs tucked in. When she was on top of the redhead she threw a kick downward, getting caught and tossed away. Sakura followed up by coming behind her and planting a foot as she cocked her good arm back for a punch, only to have the one grounded foot kicked from under her. The punch was chakra charged, but because of having lost her balance it had no real power. "Nice try Sakura, but you should have your whole body rooted when you strike."

Both girls got back on their feet and waved off the older woman. "Fine. We give. I'll just warm up with Sakura for now." Naruko said as she continued to wave her straightened hand up and down dismissively.

"Did you look at the sealing scrolls I gave you?" Naruko nodded and handed her one storage scroll over to Kushina. "Okay, then go against each other for a little bit and then we can stop for lunch."

"Hai hai Kaa-san." Naruko placed her right hand on her left shoulder and rotated it slowly. "You reset you arm yet Sakura?" The other teen nodded and moved it freely with no show of pain. "Good, then come at me using chakra for strength." Sakura looked at her in a hesitant manner and then turned to Kushina. The Habanero nodded her head, knowing her daughter wasn't going to expect all the power that would be in the punch.

Sakura did what she was asked to, with almost all of her power she punched the blond. The jinchuriki's daughter braced for the impact and applied a similar notion of augmentation to her arms which she used to block. She was still knocked off her feet and backwards into a tree, almost toppling the rough wood. Naruko hopped back onto her feet, shaky as she took deep breaths to refill her lungs. "OW! That fucking hurt!" Kushina glared at her daughter for the swearing. "I know I asked for it but that was more than I expected." Thinking about her words for a bit she turned a slight shade of pink as she noticed that context was key in that statement.

Naruko shook out her arms a bit before getting back into place. Sakura checked her teammate for any serious damage and aided in what ever recovery needed the help. Naruko always healed quickly, not like her mother, but still needed medical attention when it was real bad. This time she only had a slight fracture to her forearm that Sakura took quick care of. "There, that should do it Naruko."

Flexing her fingers and swinging her arms carefully Naruko broke out in a smile. "Hehe, good as ever. Thanks." She then closed the slight gap between them and kissed Sakura lightly on the lips. Realizing what happened she turned pink and apologized. "Oh crap, sorry. I'm just used to Hinata helping me like that during training. There was nothing meant by it, sorry." Sakura was an equal shade of pink and tried to calm down.

"I-it's okay, accidents happen... Wait, you've kissed Hinata?" Sakura snapped her eyes up, locking with Naruko's, a look of shock on the medic's face.

Naruko nodded. "Yeah, I'm not a 'guys only' type of girl if that is what you thought." Naruko smiled a bit and scrunched up her eyes. "Please just don't tell Sasuke, or Ero-sennin. It was just an accident." Sakura agreed but asked who 'Ero-sennin' was since this was not the first time Naruko referred to them. "Oh he's my godfather. Jiraiya of the Sannin. He is the pervert who writes Kakashi's books."

After hearing a few stories about the man Sakura was more than willing to not share information about the kiss, innocent as it may have been. After about an hour of Naruko taking augmented hits Sakura was running empty and gratefully accepted the lunch Kushina handed her. It was a lot more food than she was used to, almost always being on a diet. Noticing that Team 7's medic was eating slowly, and only a few bites of each part, Kushina spoke up. "Sakura, you need to eat. Diets are a terrible idea for any ninja. The level of activity in our lives easily burns off most of what we eat. Just don't become an Akimichi and you will improve your health ten fold." Sakura looked over at the lunch Naruko had already finished, each of the compartments to her layered bento was about one of Sakura's plus half, and she had three sections to it.

"Where did all of that go?!" Sakura asked out loud, looking towards Kushina, who had a lunch of equal size to Naruko's.

The rest of the day was more of Naruko taking any punch Sakura could land. By the end of the day Sakura was exhausted and sweaty. When they got back to Tazuna's the three Konoha ladies each took a turn in the bath, Sakura taking the longest as she tried to soothe her screaming aches. 'Ugh, how do those two do it? They eat like Akimichi clan members and train harder than the Uchiha, Hyuuga, and the Inuzuka.

The rest of the week went like that, with the only change being Naruko was not with Kushina and Sakura the day before Zabuza's expected attack. She had stayed behind at Tazuna's to help Kakashi and Sasuke. Before the Uzumaki head left with the young Haruno they saw Naruko slowly circling the house, one foot dragging behind her and the earth scorching wherever the dragged foot touched. Naruko was working on a seal to keep the house safe incase Gato's men did anything stupid. After that was done the blond was forced to make clone after clone to rush Sasuke during his training.

And now on the day Zabuza should be attacking they found themselves alone with Tazuna on the bridge. Naruko was on the arm of a crane, her feet angled up with her head aiming down. Sasuke was scouting the area as mist rolled in off of the ocean. Sakura was next to Tazuna near the makeshift office of the construction site, ready to get him inside quickly. Kushina was out of site, hiding in the shovel of a large scoop. Kakashi was in the middle of the bridge with his book in hand as he hummed an old song used to teach the ninja principles to children in the academy.

The reason no one was working today was that they had all been given the day off, Team 7's hoping to not include civilians. As the mist got thicker Naruko opened her eyes. She could feel the malice and chakra in it. She was too used to unnatural mist to miss it. 'They're here.' She flared her chakra once, a heads up to her team who acted as planned all gathering together, minus Kushina who stayed hidden. "So, you all chose to stay and help that old man?" Zabuza's voice rang out from every where.

"Cut the ventriloquism crap Zabuza-tou." Naruko called out ready to thicken the mist more if she needed to. It had proven helpful in the first fight but now it was just to make the enemy feel like they hadn't changed methods. Kakashi heard the pull of the Kubikiribocho from behind him, Zabuza was getting ready. "I know you aren't this much of a coward, Demon of the Mist. That little boy toy of yours though should learn a new trick or two." As she said it Naruko reached out behind her and grabbed the wrist of someone trying to sneak up on her. With a quick twist, not breaking it but applying pressure, Haku let out a hiss and Zabuza thinned the mist enough for both sides to see each other.

 **Chapter End**

* * *

Thank you for reading everyone. Just some quick notes.

Mizutou-ken is supposed to be something along the lines of "Mist Walker Fist." Nowhere in the entirety of any sources can I find who Kushina's Jonin sensei was so I saw this as being a good chance to start giving Sakura more Tsunade like strength but not medical skill. As for the NaruSaku kiss, it was meant to be an accident, I'm not going to suddenly make this a NarukoxSakura fic.

I also hope that some people will be willing to check out my other story. So far it is just a one-shot but I want to write more if people actually like it. It is another Naruko story and Minato and Kushina are both alive, read and you will figure out why. It has what can be a too strong Naruko so if I do continue I also want to know how I can keep her from just being Melon Lord Toph or god like Naru.

And one shout out to Merriam Webster's dictionary for the definition, in the A/N at the beginning. I know what biased means but I didn't know the way to best word it.

Thanks again everybody and till next time.  
-dbrame91


	14. Chapter 14

Naruko: The Story Retold

By: dbrame91

Sorry folks, it has been a while since this story got an update. This needed to be an important chapter, but I feel like I didn't do it the justice I wanted for it. I hope everyone does enjoy the chapter all the same though.

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Chapter 10: Naruko and Kushina **  
**

"Good, now we can all see each other. How are you doing tou-san?" Naruko let go of Haku's wrist, while he took a step back before joining his master. "I thought you always preached to never do the same thing twice in a row."

"Hand over that old man so I can finish my job and get out of here." Zabuza's tone was rough and no nonsense as he stared down the group of Konoha ninja. 'I don't see Kushina, and I can't feel her either. Maybe the 'sister' Naruko mentioned _was_ that piece of bubblegum?' Zabuza crossed his arms and glared at the four person team. "I don't like waiting Naruko, you should know that."

"Hai hai. You are Momochi Zabuza, Demon of the Bloody Mist. You get the job done, and eliminate any obstacles in your way." As Naruko retorted Kushina rushed the swordsman and wrapped her arm around his neck, taking him over the edge of the bridge, separating the two Kiri killers. "Looks like Kaa-san didn't want to wait much longer."

"Subdue and detain. We want to take this one alive, just like Zabuza." Kakashi ordered his Genin as the three offense types huddled around Sakura, ready to act as shields. Naruko made several clones, three Mizu Bunshin and two Kage. The clones rushed forward, acting as the front line, and each began to work on the same familiar string of hand signs. "Namikaze Variant: Hidora Nesuto!" The hydra surged forward as Haku just stood there and watched.

Suddenly the jutsu froze in midair and crashed to the surface of the bridge, Haku uninjured. 'What?! Why did it turn to ice?' The masked boy took a step toward the group as he pulled out his weapon of choice. "My name is Haku. Descendant of the Yuki clan and last user of the true Hyoton." Haku's arm shot out, releasing his senbon. Each needle hit a clone and caused them to deform.

'This isn't good. If he can freeze any water jutsu he wants then that severely limits Naruko's options.' Kakashi watched the boy, barely older than his students, continue his walk. "Sasuke, Naruko. Turn this into a fight of taijutsu and don't let up." When the two objected, saying they should use more than just taijutsu, Kakashi explained. "Naruko, your suiton will be no help here since he can just freeze it. Sasuke, the Hyoton is a Kekkai Genkai. That means the ice is going to be a lot stronger than what a regular Katon can melt." As Kakashi spelled it out for his students he lifted his hitai-ate off of his left eye. "Sakura, get inside but be ready to get Tazuna to safety. I don't know how this is going to end." The second Sakura started moving Haku launched a small volley of senbon at the pinkette's back, only for Kakashi to intercept the deadly needles with a kunai.

 **With Kushina and Zabuza (parallel to events on the bridge)**

"So you really are here Kushina?" Zabuza stood on guard, waiting for this version of his lover to burst into a cloud of smoke and reveal that the Kakashi on the bridge was a clone and that the real one was down here with him.

"Hai Zabuza. I am." Kushina relaxed a little, knowing that the swordsman would too. "Why did you never get in touch?" Kushina's fingers found their way to the chain around her neck, Zabuza's last written promise still tucked safely into the attached pendant.

"Things started off fine after I left Koriyo. I joined up with the resistance like I had planned, and we even killed that Mizukage Yagyu." Zabuza sighed after that. "I was the one who eliminated him. With Yagyu dead Kiri became politically unstable and was controlled by a council until a new Kage was appointed. Before that happened though they wanted to calm any unrest, and part of doing that was relabeling me a traitor before I was ever cleared the first time. About a month after that I picked up the kid on the bridge and we've been traveling ever since." The muscular man ran his fingers through his hair and sighed again.

"Well then we will just have to fix that." Kushina looked at the man and smiled sadly. "I've missed you Zabuza-san."

"I've missed you too Kushi." Zabuza smiled a bit under his bindings. "And I am already trying to work on the issue. If I can build up enough money I know a guy who can be bought off to close my file for good. I will be listed as dead, but I will also be clear."

"Kami, that nickname is still terrible." Kushina laughed a bit into her hand before regaining her composure. "I still can't let you kill Tazuna, or anyone on Team 7, though."

The tall man nodded, understanding what she meant. "Then put up one hell of a good fight Kushina, because I don't want to." Zabuza reached behind him and drew his weapon, his grip was slightly loose and his heart not in the spirit of the moment. He knew he probably wouldn't win. Kushina had been more skilled than he was, even when they were both village aligned ninja.

Kushina started. She was gone in an instant and the next her eyes were the only thing Zabuza could see. The Kiri ninja pulled his sword up to shield him as the redhead struck at him. Even with the Kubikiribocho taking the hit Zabuza was sent backwards, his feet still on the water's surface, and a deep ringing vibrated through the giant blade.

Zabuza countered by charging the redhead. His sword swung low, towards her legs. Kushina responded by stepping on the flat of the sword and using it as her launching point over the bandaged ex-Kiri ninja. As she traveled over Zabuza's head Kushina laced her fingers together under his chin and forced him to bend backwards, using her back to leverage him over her and face first into the water's surface. As soon as the swordsman hit the water his body exploded into a shroud of mist that covered the surrounding area.

Kushina quickly looked around for any sign of him before taking a deep breath and cutting off her chakra flow to her feet, dropping her smoothly into the cold water. Once under the water Kushina looked around her again, checking to make sure Zabuza wasn't coming from below the surface, before kicking off and using chakra in small bursts to propel her further away. The chakra swimming method was something Zabuza had taught her. With six bursts and kicks she escaped the mist filled area and resurfaced. Using a short sequence of hand signs Kushina pooled some chakra into the water around her and began to spin it in five spots, before launching the water from most of those spots as log tendrils of drilling water. As she took a curled up pose, using one knee to rest her weight on, four of the tendrils shot into the mist, their rotations pulling some of the mist into the vacuums that followed them, and back out before being pushed into the mist again.

As Kushina maintained her jutsu Zabuza's shadow fell over her as he brought down his sword on her, the back side of the massive blade aimed diagonally between her shoulder blades. Just as Zabuza was about to land the hit the fifth spot of spinning water shot up and forced the blade back. "Most of the Silent Killing targets can be hit from the back, so by obscuring the frontal targets I forced you to approach from behind where I was ready for you." As Zabuza swung his sword from the direction of her left she pulled her right side back and then swung that foot up, using her chakra to stick herself to the blade before letting the rest of her body follow the motion and then step back onto the water when she was safe. "If you don't want to fight us then why are you still trying?"

"I'm doing this to keep Gato away for as long as possible. He won't try to betray me while I am still doing his dirty work." Zabuza then laid out his plan to eliminate the backstabbing shipping tycoon with the information that he had Haku collect pertaining to the planed betrayal that Naruko had warned him about. "He is going to be coming here with his henchmen, and the actual Hunters from Kiri hiding out of site until he gives them a signal."

 **With Team 7**

"Sasuke, get down!" Kakashi called out as he loosed a fireball in the direction of his only male student, the teen weapon locked with Haku. The fireball closed in fast, leaving scorch marks along the bridge. Sasuke dove to the side as late as he could, trying to keep the assassin too busy to flee but failing, allowing Team 7's opponent to get out of the way just as easily as the Uchiha heir.

Kakashi had been right to order his students to keep this a taijutsu fight, for the most part until Haku showed his skill with one handed signs. However, this still gave the team the distraction they needed to keep him from using his Hyoton jutsu freely. When the fake Hunter landed on the bridge again he was surrounded by a thick mist, curtesy of Naruko, where he began to weave hand signs only to get hit. As soon as he started Naruko drove a fist into his right kidney, without a single sound on her approach or her departure. Feeling the impact Haku reacted by swinging his arm back, a single senbon clutched in his hand, only to hit nothing.

Again Haku began to make hand signs, only to be stopped again when Naruko pulled his hands apart and used the hold to push herself knee first into his chin. This time before Haku could react Naruko disappeared in a cloud of smoke, leaving nothing behind as the kage bunshin sent its memories back to the original. Naruko was crouched low, resting on one knee as she made careful chakra burns along the surface of the bridge. Where her fingers touched a dark line was left behind. Her current goal was to make a large scale heating seal in an attempt to weaken Haku's Hyoton even slightly. When she felt her clone pop the blond began to work faster, so far only having made half of the design. As she moved to the next position she made another clone when she felt the enemy's chakra start to build again.

"Are you done yet blondie?" Sasuke asked in a whisper, suddenly behind the Uzumaki heiress. When she only shook her head in response he was about to tell her to hurry up when she covered his mouth. With a quick set of motions; finger over her lips, pointing at where Haku was, a motion to her own ears followed by a shaking of her head, before dragging her thumb across her throat. Sasuke nodded as he understood, she was using her previous training in Kirigakure's silent killing to throw off their opponent with nonlethal surprise attacks. He nodded again as he motioned his intent to regroup with their teacher; pointing to himself, one hand "walking" along the palm of the other, and then covering his left eye. With that she shooed him away and got back to work.

Kakashi was standing around the outside of Naruko's mist field when he felt the air begin to chill and saw the mist starting to dissipate as it was frozen out of the air. "Naruko, he's freezing the mist. Pull back now and regroup!" He called out, hoping for his student to hear him. As the mist continued to thin Kakashi saw his late sensei's daughter rush towards him, her steps not making a noise as she ran.

"Did you feel his chakra at all when he started taking the mist down?" Kakashi shook his head in response. "Then he must have amazing control to allow such a small amount of chakra out." Looking towards her sensei Naruko noticed he had covered his Sharingan again. "The seal is in place, but I don't know how effective it will be. It wasn't made to be used large scale like this." Kakashi nodded his head this time, keeping his eyes on the direction that Haku was now approaching them from.

The normally masked boy walked through the frozen mist, keeping his eyes on the two in front of him as well as waiting for a surprise attack from the dark haired teen of Team 7. "Zabuza-san warned me about hurting you 'Miss Land of Iron'. He said he would kill me himself if I hurt you, but I am sure fighting back is fine." He raised his right hand, three senbon between each set of fingers. With a quick motion Haku launched the weapons forward, only for them to be knocked down by a horde of shuriken that came from above, and were then jerked to the sides, the thin ninja wire tied to them catching enough light to give their presence away.

Standing behind Haku was Sasuke who clapped his hands together and pulled on the ninja wire in an Uchiha technique that lead the wires around his target. The wire quickly fell into place and secured the other ninja, allowing for the Uchiha teen to make three hand signs quickly to release a stream of fire along the wire. As the flames raced towards Haku a large slab of ice formed in the way, around the wire, and stopped the attack. With the damage done to the wire Haku was able to shrug the thin binding off.

"This is starting to get unnecessarily dangerous." Haku's voice was flat as he watched Sasuke rejoin his team. Bringing his hands up into a sign that even Kakashi hadn't seen before Haku began to create a dome made of numerous disconnected ice slabs. "Makyo Hyosho!" Team 7's attack force was surrounded by the full length ice constructs, with Haku on the outside of the space. "Don't worry, I'll only kill the men," Haku said to the trio as he watched them from between two of the mirrors. Then he stepped to the side and forward, sinking into the flat surface with his image projecting onto the slab. Instantly the other mirrors reflected the same image before every one of the depictions of the hunter pulled out a bunch of senbon and began to throw them.

None of the three were ready for the assault. Sasuke took two needles to his left shoulder and one in his right bicep. Naruko's back was mostly protected from the attacks by her sword, but she still took one needle to her left calf and two in the thigh of the same leg with one in the front and one in back. Kakashi was able to avoid most of the ones that would have hit him, but still took several to his arms and legs that had been meant for his students. The silver haired leader of Team 7 also had about twenty in the back of his vest, however due to its thick design was left untouched by those senbon. Just as quickly as the flurry of needles began it was over, each mirror still projecting an identical image of Zabuza's second student.

Kakashi started to pull the senbon from his limbs as carefully as he could. Sasuke did the same, though he removed the needles with less finesse. The blond of Team 7 just pulled the weapons free without a concern to herself, a feeling that Yoko jumped on immediately. 'Be careful Naruko-nee! It is dangerous to just rip them out, especially when you're not familiar with the locations of things.' Naruko nodded as she slowly adjusted her shoulders and neck, letting her shake out the injured leg to test it. She wasn't in too much pain, so she could put up with the tiny holes that barely bled.

"Kaka-sensei, I'm putting the plan into action." The blonde dropped to one knee, brushing her finger tips along the surface of the incomplete bridge and putting the last marks into the seal. With the marks done Naruko spiked her chakra into the burned markings and activated the seal. "We have about a minute before it takes full effect. Get out of here and prepare a Katon, sensei."

"I'm not leaving either of you in here." The Jonin said as his one visible eye roamed the enclosure carefully. "We just need someone to use a Katon jutsu on the same slab as someone on the inside, it doesn't have to be me."

"You're the only one fast enough to get out of here sensei." Sasuke said from the Jonin's right. "I don't stand a change of getting out of here. And Naruko is too stubborn to run."

"Fine, but Naruko has to provide cover for you until we are ready," the silver haired man countered. Both of his students nodded as they got ready to make their move. "On three." Naruko watched her teammates closely as her hand went to the hilt of her weapon. "One." Kakashi gathered his strength to his legs, his point of escape being between two of the ice mirrors to his right. "Two." Sasuke braced himself, planning to follow Kakashi as a support. "Three!" The trio from Konoha jumped into action. Kakashi making his straight line for the opening, Sasuke at his ten o'clock position and Naruko on his five.

The blond's weapon was free from her back and swinging as soon as she heard the first set of needles approaching. With a quick twist of her body, the broad side of her sword shielded her teacher. The blade was back in place as quickly as it had been pulled free before Naruko began channeling a very small amount of her Wind chakra and turned back to her teacher. Putting her hand on Kakashi's back she made a small thrust with the arm and pushed him further, right through the chunks of ice.

As he landed Kakashi turned back to the ice constructs and began to run through hand signs at the same pace as his male student, both of them using the same jutsu. Naruko had her back to the spike haired Uchiha and her sword in hand once again, she watched as each reflection of Haku readied to throw another batch of senbon. As the needles began to fly the blond swung her weapon one handed, catching the hole in the blade before spinning it from that position. Her reach was cut off by a small margin as she wasn't using the grip of her Kubikiribocho. Her arms moved as fast as they could, covering every angle she could reach, keeping the heavy blade in motion as she batted away group after group of needles.

"Katon: Gokyaku no Jutsu!" The voices of Sasuke and Kakashi both rang out as they blew large gouts of flame at the same mirror. At first the techniques didn't do much besides sending small and uncompromising cracks along the frozen monolith. As the cracks formed Haku increased his rain of senbon, speeding up further as well as throwing more needles. The Yuki's assault began to make its way through Naruko's defense, but only made it as far as her. Each senbon that made it through the blond's spinning weapon was stopped by the teen herself, letting the needles hit her instead of her male teammate.

As the only pupils of Kiri's Demon of the Bloody Mist continued their fight the cracks in the ice mirror began to run deeper and thicker, popping noises coming from them. Sasuke and Kakashi poured in more chakra to the Katon jutsu. Haku exited his mirror and rushed at the distracted Uchiha. Going on nothing except instinct and unnoticed guidance from Yoko, Naruko swung her blade up cutting off the fake hunter from his straight charge and stopping him for long enough. Just as Haku was about to start his charge again there was a loud shattering on the bridge, Haku's Hyoton breaking into slivers of thick ice.

 **With Kushina**

Kushina was standing in front of the man who had been her lover and was now her opponent. Zabuza's giant blade had been lodged in one of the support columns of the bridge and he was currently being kept away from the weapon by the red headed woman, meaning he had to rely on his taijutsu or ninjutsu skills. Both ninja were breathing heavily as they stared each other down, Zabuza more so than Kushina.

"You're not going to get the Kubikiribocho back like this." The Uzumaki head said as she slid into a new offensive form. Narrowing her senses she could feel the fighting members of Team 7 on the bridge. "If you want to end this you can, Zabuza. All we need to do is put down Gato, his men, and anyone else who is waiting for this to be over.

"It's not that easy Kushina." Zabuza shifted himself into a lower position, bending his knees a bit further and widening his stance. "If I can get close to Gato, I can kill him before he can give the order for his men to attack. Without that tiny rat to give the orders his goons will be easier to deal with." With that said the nuke-nin made his charge. When he got in front of the Konoha Kunoichi he grabbed her striking hand by the wrist and pushed the blow to the side, as he deflected the attack he leapt up, his knee aimed for her forehead.

Kushina responded by leaning back, out of the reach of the flying knee, before rushing forward and grabbing the now slightly airborne ninja in a pushing tackle. Both of Zabuza's arms were held at his side, locked there by Kushina's full body grip. After taking two steps she wheeled around hard and slammed him into the bridge's support. "We can help you. There is a full team on the top of that bridge, one of which is a veteran of the Third war and another member is one of two young ninja you have personally taught." As he was pressed between the woman and the support Zabuza tried to bring a knee up into the woman's stomach, only to have her slam her fist into his kidney. "Give up Zabuza and we can end this positively." She looked up into his face, a tear in the corner of her left eye. "I don't want to fight you anymore."

The tall man squirmed as he tried to break even one arm free of the hold Kushina had on him. "Fighting me is no use Zabuza. Even if you do hurt me, you know that I am more than just an average ninja of Konoha, I am the Jinchuriki of the Leaf." Her voice was soft as she spoke now, not wanting any hidden enemies to overhear those words. "I am going to do what I have to in order to stop you Zabuza." Zabuza continued his struggle against the woman, planting his feet on the bridge support behind him and kicking off of it. The redhead adjusted her footing, trying to keep herself steady, as she pushed him back onto the column of cement.

Kushina let her hold loosen slightly as she looked up into his eyes. Carefully she shifted her arms from a full body grab to a simple and tender hug. Zabuza looked back at her with a hint of confusion before carefully extracting his arms and returning the hug. "I missed you Kushina." The next instant Kushina smiled and ran through a quick set of hand signs and a sphere of water surrounded the man.

"I'll let you out, on your word that you will go along with my plan instead of your own." She let a slightly mischievous smile grace her lips. One of her hands was in the orb and she was staring into his eyes. "So are you going to listen to your lover or keep being a stubborn fool?" The redhead stood and waited for an answer before realizing the most she would get would be masses of popping bubbles. "Nod if you agree to my terms."

Zabuza was glaring at her from the water prison and nodded as much as the oppressing water would allow. The water fell around him, with an easy exhale and a slow inhale he looked back at her again. "Fine, we try it your way."

 **On the Bridge**

Naruko stood facing the Yuki descendent, her blade lifted between them. "Give up already. There is no reason to keep fighting." She called out to the boy and tightened her grip, ready to defend herself.

"There is a reason. Zabuza said to complete the mission, and so I am going to do just that." Haku reached for his backup supply of senbon. "I will continue until the job is finished." The assassin made his move, in a sudden charge forward with his arm poised to throw three needles. "I will end this quick."

Naruko responded to the incoming attacker by readying a downward swing with her weapon. Her fingers readied to shift the grip in her hand, switching the blade to it's broad side as it came down. 'If I can just knock him out with one good hit we'll be better off.' The blond's plan was to use her favorite weapon as a paddle instead of the blade it was meant to be. 'I don't need to go too easy on him. Sakura will be able to prevent any permanent damage and mend anything serious.'

As the sword fell into place Haku slid to the side gently, around the offensive guard, and prepared to strike the Namikaze girl in a way similar to when he incapacitated Zabuza. As Haku's needles were about to hit their mark Naruko felt a tug on her jacket collar and was pulled back by her sensei, her limbs trailing behind the rest of her. "Let me go damn it!"

As Naruko was pulled away from the fake hunter movement in the corner of her eye caught her attention. The movement was just a blur coming up from over the side of the bridge and landing on the opposite edge. There stood Zabuza, Kushina slung over one shoulder while the Kubikiribocho was in his hand, with his back to the occupants of the bridge top. Slowly dropping to a knee Zabuza lifted Kushina off his shoulder and placed her against the barrier wall on the side of the bridge. When the Uzumaki woman's head rolled back the three Konoha ninja saw her eyes were closed. The sight shut down Naruko's thoughts, causing her to miss the slow rise and fall of her mother's chest.

Naruko's eyes widened in shock as her breath caught in her throat. 'Zabuza wouldn't hurt Kaa-san.' As she continued to look at her only living blood relative her thoughts started to shake more. The adult woman's stillness unnatural to the blond who was so used to seeing Kushina up and active. Yoko was trying to get her sister's attention as loudly as she could, but to no success. Naruko was also shut off to her teacher and black haired housemate's attempts.

Without a single thought or plan the teen was rushing at the pale man, her sword readied as she jumped slightly and swung. Zabuza turned and met his first pupil's blade with his own, blocking her, and looked into her furious eyes. His own dark eyes reflected sadness as he turned his weapon roughly to forcefully disarm Naruko before enveloping her in a hug that she fought against. "I know how you feel Naruko but calm down, this is all part of her plan." His mouth was right against her ear and his voice soft, trying to relieve her of the anger. "She will be just fine, she isn't even hurt."

 **Chapter End**

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I just want to say thank you to everyone being patient. There were so many times that I just didn't know where I wanted to go with this chapter, especially during the Team 7 v. Haku parts. Thanks as always for reading and expect more frequent updates hopefully, I plan to prioritize this story at least until the Chunin Exams.

Wishing you all well dbrame91


	15. Chapter 15

Naruko: The Story Retold

By: dbrame91

Sorry for such a long wait folks. I wanted to make this a good chapter but had issues with the story to it as a lot of this part is non-canon story. In order to make up for the wait, I tried to make this a long chapter.

Sadly I have now had to remove a review from this story. The review in question was from an anonymous user who chose to hide behind that one way mirror to tell me to kill myself and then insult me. Good news is I am still alive and active despite this poor soul's weak attempt to put me down.

This is a 9,653 word chapter, not counting the header, and long overdue. Next chapter will gloss over the time between completion of this mission and the seven person group of ninjas' return to Konoha.

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Chapter 11: Naruko

Naruko continued to struggle against Zabuza as he tightened the embrace. "Let me go Zabuza." The blond's voice was a growl as she freed an arm and pushed herself back from the man. Slowly the former Kiri ninja complied, loosening his hold on her before releasing her completely, but not before using the closeness to loop the Namikaze heiress into the plan.

Once freed Naruko retrieved her weapon and jumped back with the rest of her team, her head hanging slightly. "Naruko, next time listen during a mission," Kakashi scolded carefully. "You could have been cut down acting like that." Gently he put a hand on her shoulder and she looked up at him. He noticed her mouth moving slightly as almost inaudible words escaped her, laying out the plan set up by Zabuza and Kushina. 'So Zabuza is still willing to compromise.'

Kakashi nodded to his blond student as he got ready to play his part. Naruko looked back towards Zabuza as she lifted her blade slowly. Sasuke was making his way to the shack that Sakura and Tazuna were hiding in, his eyes not turning away from the two Kiri ninja. Haku pulled out several of his needles and held them in a reverse hold, the ends of the needles coming out from the pinky side of his right hand. "Naruko, you and Sasuke are not to engage Zabuza. Keep the Hyoton user busy and I will distract Zabuza so Sakura can get Kushina out of there."

"Hai sensei." The blond shifted her focus from the experienced swordsman to the ice slinging teen to his right. "The seal is still active so that will help keep his jutsu weaker." Turning her attention inward, until her black haired teammate returned, Naruko looked towards her sister. 'Yoko-nee, I'm sorry I lost it back there. It was dumb of me, and I let it rattle me.'

'Everything is okay Naruko-nee. I know you were just worried about Kaa-san, but try and remember to listen to me more okay?' Channeling her senses through her sister, Yoko had adjusted her room to look like the current scene on the bridge. 'Just keep yourself calm and I will help with keeping you as aware of everything going on as I can.' Yoko moved next to her representation of her sister and joined her in looking towards Haku. Yoko was answered by a small pulse of thankful chakra as Naruko returned most of her focus to the external.

"Talking to your sister over there blondie?" Zabuza called out, noticing the slightly eased posture of Naruko as she talked to Yoko. It had been something she would do a lot when she was still his student, the slight change becoming a noticeable habit to the bandaged faced man. "How is she doing? Still a peace lover?"

Naruko nodded in the affirmative as Kakashi looked over at her and dropped his voice to a whisper. "He knows about Yoko?" Again the Uzumaki heiress nodded. "Does he know what she can do?" Kakashi was worried that they may have even less advantages in this fight now if the Demon of the Mist did indeed know. This time Naruko shook her head, and calmed the veteran's thoughts.

"Yoko and I didn't work any of that stuff out until after returning to Konoha. And only you and Kaa-san know what we can do, though Lord Inherited Pinkeye does know about her." Naruko explained, throwing in the jab at Sasuke to try and keep things lighthearted. 'Yoko, where are Sasuke and Sakura?' The internal sister looked around her current setup and found the two Genin inbound to the rest of Team 7. A second later Sakura and Sasuke slid into position on either side, Sasuke to the left of Kakashi and Sakura to the right of Naruko.

"Perfectly timed you two. Sasuke, you and Naruko will hold off the masked kid. I will take Zabuza. And Sakura, you go get Kushina-san while we hold off these two." Kakashi ordered quickly. "Remember, hold back to conserve stamina." Slowly he separated himself from his Genin, Zabuza following his lead, while Team 7's blond tank and raven assault specialist moved on their opponent. Naruko took the lead, her miniature of the Kubikiribocho in a two handed grip and resting on her right shoulder, while Sasuke followed and kept slightly lower with a kunai held in a reverse grip.

With a quick flicker of their bodies the three met in a renewed clash of steel. Naruko brought her heavy blade down fast but light, trying to keep from damaging the masked boy's last remaining weapons, while Sasuke escaped his housemate's shadow by sliding to the left of the blond teen. As he pulled his kunai up the Uchiha aimed for the white mask in an attempt to remove it, hoping that he could read more of the fellow male's attacks by watching where his eyes landed. Seeing the attack as it neared his mask Haku quickly flipped through a series of one-handed hand signs before calling out "Sensatsu Suisho!" As the boy's words filled the air so too did numerous needles made of water hover around the three teens before crashing inwards. Haku disengaged, retreating through a window that gave him just enough room to escape. Thinking quickly Naruko grabbed the back of Sasuke's collar and threw him forward, after the boy, while she began to spin her weapon around like she had back in Haku's prison of ice mirrors.

The two dark haired teens watched the spot as Naruko did everything she could to block the water needles. As the last of the needles crashed into the ground she had only suffered a deeply grazing injury, to her left side, that had dyed the water that tore her side open pink and then red. Her breathing was slightly heavy as she touched the opening and hissed. The blond's arms felt slightly heavy from swinging and twirling her blade around as much as she had done. Planting her sword in the concrete of the bridge she looked around, getting an update from Yoko.

'Zabuza and Kakashi-sensei are still a little bit off, but Sakura has Kaa-san who is filling her in on the plan.' Yoko explained as she turned her head around, studying the layout of the bridge occupants. 'Gato and his men are nearing the Wave side of the bridge now. Probably only two minutes before he makes his move.' Yoko was given a slight chakra pulse as Naruko regrouped with Sasuke, making two shadow clones along the way that branched off towards Kakashi and Kushina to give them updates.

"Gato is on his way here. He is about two minutes away with a bunch of thugs." Naruko was pressed shoulder to shoulder with the raven haired teen as she alerted her teammate to the incoming forces, her voice loud enough to let Haku know too. "Get ready, we're about to have a lot more fighting ahead of us." Sasuke eyed her injured side silently as the blond looked around in the thinning mist. "I need to get this closed up, so you hold off this guy while Sakura patches me back up." With that Naruko disappeared in a burst of speed to allow the two male teens to keep up the act.

When the blond met up with Sakura it was just as her clone dispersed itself, leaving a small cloud of smoke. "Sakura, I need you to fix me up, fast as possible." Lifting the left side of her shirt, Naruko exposed the wound to Team 7's medic. Her shirt had soaked up a fair amount of blood and clung to her side with a wet warmth that cooled quickly in the mist saturated air. "Ah, that is better already," she sighed as she felt the healing properties of her fellow teen's medical jutsu staunch the bleeding and knit the skin back together. In a few seconds Naruko was as good as new, just as a laugh filled the air from the direction of Wave.

With a huff Naruko got back on her feet and looked towards the laughter's source. As the sound got closer more voices became audible, each adding its presence to the mixing laughter, before it all died back down. "Well what do we have here? A bunch of brats, two failures at their job, and a cyclops" Gato called into the thick mist, relying on the reports he had received to mock the gathered ninja as the mist was still too thick. 'I can't see a damned thing through this mist, but if they think I can it will be all the more imposing.'

"Kaa-san, there are three in the group that smell of weapon oil only." The Namikaze teen whispered out as she put her weapon on her back. "They are no doubt the Kiri Hunters that Gato called in. Then there are about thirty other people, counting the little rat and his two body guards." With a quick pulse of chakra into the mist Naruko thinned out the curtain some more. "We should all group back up." With that the three female occupants on the bridge got up and silently dove deeper into the mist, the two uninjured ninja following the blond as she made her way back to the others.

The four male ninja on the bridge had regrouped, with Kakashi and Zabuza rushing over to the teens as soon as the clone dispersed. As soon as the four were together they heard the laugh of the shipping tyrant and his henchmen. As Gato mocked the collective each one of them got ready for the next step, eliminate the tiny man and his laughable force of goons. When the tyrant stopped the group of four was suddenly met by the three bright haired members of their plan.

"They have three Hunter ninja from what I can tell." Naruko said as she looked around the group. "I can't pinpoint them, not in this mist anyway. Though I can think of a good way to draw them out." Quickly making a Kage Bunshin Naruko made sure she had the group's attention. "We just have to go for Gato. Depending on their experience they will either be some of the first ones to react or they won't even move. Either outcome will tell us who is who. The Hunters will either see it as a trap and not move to even draw weapons, or they draw and rush while their speed gives them away." Kakashi was nodding slowly as he thought it over.

'Not a bad idea.' Locking eyes with his student Kakashi spoke up. "What about if we move too quick for the thugs and they don't realize they should draw."

"They will get ready out of anger almost as soon as they see Gato dead, which still helps us because the Hunters aren't being paid by the bastard so they won't care." The blond explained as she took off her coat and put it back on immediately, leaving her low hanging ponytail tucked into the neck of the garment. "I'll be the one going out there, well my clone will be, that way we can also get a quick idea of what they look like and not risk losing one of us." At this the clone saluted as it hefted its clone of Naruko's sword. "We'll just wait for him to finish talking before we start. Zabuza, I'm going to need your help to make some more cover for us."

"This is pathetic Zabuza. I thought I hired the Demon of the Bloody Mist, but all I got is some weakling who can't even kill a bridge builder." Gato called out into the mist, looking in the direction he last heard the sound of clanging metal, still too blinded by the ex-Kiri ninja's veil to see. Gato's hired stooges stood around behind him, hesitant to enter the mist due to the stories of the Demon's former accomplishments. The three hunters were mixed into the group of thugs, the only ones to notice that the mist was thinning now, each one gripping their weapons and waiting for the time to strike. "I guess I didn't need to alert Kirigakure to your being here, and just had my own men kill you."

As the words left his mouth a blond blur shot out of the mist towards the large group, an animalistic roar coming from it. Six bodies moved as the blur came into sight. The first was one of Gato's nameless peons, stepping forward to prove his skill. He was cut down quickly, his cheap iron sword snapping under the force of the heavier blade carried by the blond streak, as the blur sped past his left side and took the arm off before he could realize the loss of the limb. The second and third were Gato's body guards, stepping in front of the diminutive man with their swords drawn. The last three to move were the Hunters, one came from the left, the next came from the right, and the final one came straight down.

The one on Naruko's left was braced against the bridge under his feet, a kunai buried in her side just above the previous wound. The hunter on her right was holding a ninjato, which went from about his hip to just passed the knee, and had stabbed it clean through her right thigh. The third Hunter, on her back, was also wielding a ninjato but his was longer and stabbed through one of her lungs. "A Leaf brat? Did she really think she could take on this whole group?" The second one asked as he looked at the soon to be dead girl, already sliding weakly towards the ground. Just as the third was about to speak up the area was filled with a sudden cloud of smoke as the blond disappeared. "A clone?!" As the Hunters looked at each other three identical voices called out, the voices coming from behind each of them.

"Clones are a specialty of mine." As the three turned to look, they met the eyes of the clones behind them, each one releasing the mist around them. "Bunshin Jutsu and stealth are my two primary skills." As more of the mist cleared the rest of the growing Team 7 came into view. The three Genin and Kushina were together behind the thigh length ninjato wielder. Kakashi had Haku next to him, behind the hunter who had landed on the clone's back. Lastly was Zabuza behind the man who had only a kunai drawn. Each clone turned to smoke as the group of seven closed in more.

In a sudden movement all three of the masked Kiri charged their closest opponent. Haku blocked his and Kakashi's target with an ice mirror, forming the ice around the blade to keep it stuck. Zabuza casually blocked kunai stabs with his own weapon, each time the small knife only skipped off the broad side of his massive sword. The last one rushed at the blond Genin who had tricked his team, only to be hit from his right side by a hidden clone's Suiryuudan and knocked off his feet. "I already told you that clones are my specialty."

"Shut up you annoying blond bitch!" The man charged again, picking his weapon off the bridge's concrete surface as he got to it, the ninjato having been dropped when he was hit by the dragon shaped water form. "I was chosen to be one of the next Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, and I will not stand for some brat to make a fool of me." As he got in front of Naruko he brought his blade down, only to have it met half way by her own weapon. A smirk grew across her face as she continued to mock the man, only this time without words. Pushing forward a bit, the blond was able to force him to jump back.

"What sword would you get?" The Hunter was stunned for a minute, not expecting the question. "Come on, you can't be that shaken by being blocked can you?" Naruko asked as she met the man's eyes behind his mask.

"I don't see why it matters to you, but I'm the next to get the Kubikiribocho once we take it back from Zabuza." The man lunged again, the blade pulled back along his right hip. As his foot made contact with the bridge surface directly in front of the blond a surge of water suddenly lashed upward between the two.

"Don't forget, you aren't doing this alone Naruko." The voice of Kushina called out from a few paces off to the Uzumaki heiress's left, both of the red headed mother's hands on the bridge in a puddle that stretched out to where the two sword wielders stood. "Let's take this guy down before the rest finish up." With a look over her shoulder Kushina called out to the medic of team 7, "Now Sakura, Sasuke!"

With the cue given a crouching shape landed in front of the man and lashed out in an uppercut, pink hair coming into view as the figure attacked. The Seven Swordsmen hopeful gave a quick swing of his ninjato, only for it to pass through the figure and the sound of flying shuriken to pervade the air. His thoughts took in the situation despite the threat, 'an illusionary bunshin.' As the Kiri man looked into the fog he heard the sound come closer before finally seeing the glint of light bouncing off the sharpened throwing stars. Choosing to keep pressing his opponents he rushed forward, back at the blond, as well as getting away from where the weapons could hit him. As he got closer to Naruko the man felt six thin lines of pressure along the front of his clothing that went around the sides. Before he could realize the trap the wires snapped around, closing off a chance to retreat as the shuriken embedded themselves into the bridge and pulled the wires tight around his body.

Again a pink haired figure appeared in front of the man, but when she swung her fist upwards Sakura was actually there and using her chakra augmentation to add to the punch. The blow sent the hunter up and backwards, the shuriken stuck in the bridge being pulled up with him, as he heard the approaching sound of feet. Correcting his short flight the ninja landed on his feet and freed himself from the ninja wire that had trapped him while he looked around. He was surrounded by ten copies of the same blond haired teen, all of them started flying through hand signs that came to a sudden end and resulted in ten similar dragon shaped streams of water rushing towards him.

With Kakashi and Haku

The two impromptu teammates were holding their own easily enough against the disarmed hunter, his weapon still stuck in an ice mirror that was kept out of the hunter's reach. Kakashi had come up with a plan before everyone had approached. He and Haku were going to use hit and run tactics, Haku would use his Demonic Ice Mirrors to make another dome while Kakashi would remain on the outside. Haku would then assail the hunter, much like he had with Naruko, Sasuke, and Kakashi, to keep the hunter from running out and Kakashi would run in from any blind spots the hunter provided while trying to defend against the rain of needles.

Kakashi wove between the mirrors, shooting into the dome and back out armed with a single kunai. Each hit resulted in small cuts along the hunter's legs and arms mostly, and they were finally starting to slow the man down. The Hunter's response time to the incoming ninja tools was slowing down as evidenced by the growing number of needles perforating his body.

"Haku, release the first mirror." Kakashi called out into the dome in the middle of one of the teen's assaults. The Leaf Jonin was standing by the mirror, hand on the hilt of the trapped weapon as he readied himself to move in and keep the opponent distracted while Haku readied his next attack. With a sudden slide of the weapon coming free Kakashi was running off into the dome, the enemy's ninjato in hand and ready to sing through the air as he rushed the panting man. With a quick swing of the weapon Kakashi felt the blade tear through the hunter, but as he turned around after slipping through the walls of the dome he watched as the man fell to the ground in a puddle. In his haste to find his target again Kakashi tore his eyes away from the puddle, missing the 'remains' move towards freedom from the trap. As Kakashi watched he felt the blade in his hand be ripped free and pointed towards him.

As the blade came in closer Kakashi switched out quickly, substituting himself with a small load cement mixer from along the top of the bridge. From where he stood the silver haired man heard the edge of the sword grind against the drum of the mixer. Haku was next to him shortly after. "Now he has his weapon back, and I doubt we will be able to trap him again. Or at least no as easily." Kakashi nodded his head to the teen's words.

"I should have been using the Sharingan. I would have known if it was a clone if I had been." Haku nodded this time before he spoke up again.

"You should have, but I don't think that was a clone. Zabuza told me about a clan in Kirigakure that are capable of turning themselves into water." Haku looked in the direction of the puddle man. "It is possible that he is a survivor from the Civil War in Kiri. If he is, the clan reportedly needed to keep a very high hydration level in order to use the ability. If we can force him to waste his use of it then we might be able to tire him out again."

"Start chilling the air as much as you can. He doesn't have to freeze, but if we can reduce his willingness to change out of fear of freezing it should help too." Sniffing at the air Kakashi could pick up on the man's scent, as well as the smell of blood from Zabuza's direction. Without a word Haku began to focus his chakra into the air, forcing out the mix of water and wind that made his Hyoton. "Try and draw his attention, I'm going to prepare for the next attack." With that the Jonin was off and hiding in the mist, his chakra spiking quickly but subtly as he began to form his original jutsu.

with Zabuza

'Boring.' Zabuza tilted his head to the right a bit as he blocked another stab, only to send it upwards towards his face. With a light push he forced the hunter away. So far Zabuza had only moved one foot, and that was to widen his stance. "You know, for a Kirigakure hunter, you are terrible at this." Another stab came at him, and again it was aimed for center mass. 'He is too predictible. It's a miracle I haven't killed him yet. Maybe I should settle down somewhere again, recover my old skills.' Focusing a short blast of chakra and killing intent, Zabuza projected a demonic aura and watched as the hunter almost tripped over himself. As the masked man got closer Zabuza swung his weapon in a diagonal slice from his enemy's right shoulder to his left hip.

The Hunter jumped back, taking the strike across his chest and receiving a shallow cut. The bleeding was just enough to be worrying, especially with the other four oozing openings along his arms and one leg. In a string of Kiri's hand signals the masked hunter conveyed his own message, the hand based language roughly coming together as, "come quietly Zabuza, and pay for your betrayal." Zabuza translated this statement out loud before breaking into a maniacal laugh. The hunter took a second kunai out, hiding the movement within his large cloak, and began a new assault.

Zabuza actively avoided half of the swings and thrusts, the rest of the attacks were stopped by his sword. "Using a second knife isn't going to make you a bigger threat. Kicking out, the ex-Kiri ninja forced his opponent away before making a quick charge and swinging his blade downward. The Hunter chose to avoid the weapon, jumping back again, and caught the end of the Kubikiribocho in the mask. The porcelain split with little resistance and the Hunter underneath got away unscathed. The knife wielder reached up to his face before dropping back into an offensive stance.

"You look familiar. Did I kill a brother of yours?" Over his years as a ninja, both rogue and Kiri loyal, Zabuza had learned to tune out the faces of his targets and opponents if they didn't provide a real challenge for him, or make him a hefty profit. However that level of indifference came later on in his life, probably around the time he first went against the former Mizukage. The former Kiri swordsman watched as the hunter signed again, before lowering the high collar around his neck to reveal a scar going along his throat."'No, but you almost killed me?' What the fuck does that mean?"

Again the unnamed Hunter signed his words, "Back in academy?" The Hunter nodded to Zabuza's spoken translation. "When I was a kid?" Another nod. Realization slowly dawned on the sword wielder. "I missed one." This comment was just to himself as he started to smile under his bindings, his lips quickly twisting into a grotesque sneer, before he started to laugh. "So I failed to kill everyone with my class's massacre. That just means I need to correct that mistake." Moving quickly Zabuza charged the man, his sword pulled back over his head. The Kiri loyal jumped to the side, knowing that his village's limited accomplishments with steel meant that his kunai would snap under the single swing if he tried to block.

As the sword came down Zabuza corrected the movement, letting the speed transfer to a horizontal swing that caught the once masked mute in the back. "Just stand still so I can kill you quick." The Hunter stood back up, having been forced to take a knee as he was cut, and continued to move slowly away from the mercenary. "I'll take your head one way or another, now let me finish this."

The Hunter recoiled slightly as Zabuza mixed his chakra into his killing intent, creating a larger demonic projection to fill the space behind the former Kiri swordsman. With a charge Zabuza closed any distance and began his onslaught of swings, an unseen vicious grin under his face's wrappings and a menacing non-stopping laugh. The hunter continued to dodge and, in an act of desperation, threw one of his kunai from behind his back, angled to try and catch the crazed swordsman in the face. The airborne weapon sailed straight at Zabuza, who in his berserk rush barely noticed the knife in time to move his head, only for it tear through a small section of his face wrappings and leave a red weeping line across the cheek underneath.

with Kakashi and Haku

Haku was keeping his and Kakashi's opponent as busy as he could without wasting too much of his own chakra. Every now and then the Yuki clan survivor would create an ice mirror behind the man, and all the mirrors were starting to drop the surrounding temperature steadily. Soon their entire section of the bridge was a maze of mirrors, and the water on the surface was making slick spots of hard to detect ice.

Kakashi was still out of sight, his hitai-ate completely up and exposing his gifted Sharingan eye, as he focused the erratic lightning chakra needed to power his Chidori. The recently exposed eye allowed the silver haired man to find the concentrations of chakra that made the ice mirrors even in the thinning mist created by his student and the former Kiri swordsman. As he watched Kakashi studied his enemy's chakra patterns, every now and then it would dip slightly as his body fell apart and reconstitute itself. A fatal injury presumably being avoided each time.

The two impromptu allies slowly forced the Hunter into a long dead end made of ice mirrors that gave Kakashi a perfect chance to strike. As the Jonin began his charge the Yuki teen struck out at the actual Kiri shinobi; causing his shape to distort, burst apart, and come back together. As the Hunter looked up his vision was filled with the blinding light of Kakashi's original jutsu as his angered scream was drowned out by the bird like noise of the technique in the veteran's hand. Without enough time to use his clan's abilities the man felt the jutsu tear into his chest, pulverizing the heart once located inside and leaving it a mess of muscly ribbons, before the hand burst from his back in a fountain of red that splashed against the ice mirror.

with Naruko and company

Kushina stayed off to the side, interfering in the one on one skirmishes between her daughter and the Kiri hunter. Naruko made sure to watch for any hints at Sakura and Sasuke aiming for sneak attacks against the man and stepped back when the couple made their move. Any time the pink haired teen or her Uchiha lover became the focus of the sword wielder Naruko would step back in and pressure the black clad man with slightly restrained kenjutsu. 'If I give it any more effort I will probably be out of steam by the time it comes to fighting Gato's little army. Yoko, think you could give me a light recharge? Like what a Jinchuuriki can do with their Bijuu.' Naruko analyzed as she once again took over in the fight, giving Sakura a chance to escape a gruesome beheading.

The only daughter of the Fourth Hokage pushed her opponent away, putting all the force in her weapon to try and open the man's guard. Working as hoped the man's sword went wide at the same time he took a backwards leap to keep himself from being cut down. 'I'm sorry Naruko-nee but I don't even know if we can mix our chakras like that. I know it works for the Netto Shodoku Mizu Bunshin Daibakuha, but I mix the chakra directly into the clones to make that happen not mix it with your natural reserves. It could fry out your system forever.'

"Kaa-san, keep him off me while I talk to Sakura!" Naruko yells into the mist, knowing the Matron of the Uzumaki clan will follow through, as she clears herself from the confrontation. Letting Yoko guide her to her fellow Genin, Naruko stops next to the medic of Team 7. "Sakura, I want you right behind me on the next assault. Once I catch his weapon with mine you come in and smash the back of mine," she explains as she demonstrates the area that the pinkette should hit. "We're going to try and eliminate his weapon to reduce his threat level."

The blond doesn't move until she sees the medic nod her head. With a smile Naruko is off, Yoko guiding her through the mist, to start their plan. A short blast of chakra to her surroundings allows her to find Sakura behind her without distracting the fox spirit she calls sister.

'Naruko-nee, Sasuke is currently keeping the hunter busy. Kaa-san is building up a decent amount of chakra. I think she is going to use one of the Uzumaki clan jutsu.' Yoko's voice was calm as she tried to relay the situation to the blond teen.

Naruko stopped short and grabbed Sakura as the pinkette caught up. "Kaa-san is gonna try something big. We need to stay back till we know it is safe." With a quick joining of her hands in one of her most frequent signs the Namikaze girl was joined by an exact copy who took off towards Sasuke.

Grabbing the black haired teen by the back of his shirt, the clone pulled Sasuke away from the enemy and shouted an all clear for Kushina. The Hunter brought his blade down in a diagonal ark, slicing the fake in the back from her right shoulder to her left side, and created a cloud of chakra smoke.

The call that came from the clone acted as a target for the Uzumaki matron. Slamming her hands together, fingers curled in and laced together, Kushina caught the ninjato wielder in her jutsu.

Water quickly comes up and surrounds the man, much like the Suiro no Jutsu. As the trap finishes forming the water begins to move slowly and pick up speed as Kushina funnels more chakra into it. The sphere quickly becomes a balled up whirlpool meant to catch and disorient the Hunter inside as he struggles against the flow only wasting his strength and dwindling air. After a few minutes Kushina releases the technique, depositing the Hunter on his face to the bridge surface.

Naruko approached the downed man carefully, weapon ready, to check for signs of life. As her hand was reaching out to check the pulse line in his neck a standard kunai knife flew past her hand and embedded itself into the base of the man's neck. There was no noise made except for the tearing sound of destroyed skin and crushing/grinding of the knife severing the spinal cord and damaging the vertebrae.

"It's safer to just waste the kunai when not sure if an enemy is actually dead or just faking it." The redhead of the Uzumaki clan stepped up behind her daughter as she explained. Taking a knee near the fresh corpse she collected her knife in a quick, freeing, tug and cleaned it off on the soaked cloak of the Hunter. Putting the throwing weapon away Kushina looked back over her shoulder and at the blond. "You could also spend chakra on a jutsu, but that could be less favorable in the long run."

With a huff of exertion Kakashi steps out of the mist, a body with a large hole through its torso dragging on the ground at his side. With another gathering of strength, and air, the silver haired ninja hoists the body up a bit before throwing it over the other dead Hunter. Haku on his heels with the man's ninjato at his side before throwing the blade towards the pile too.

"Tougher than he looked, but he also had an annoying kekkai genkai to make it worse." Kakashi explains as he stretches out his arms slowly.

Suddenly a dark shape sails through the mist and rolls a few times. The third Hunter's body hiding the torso long ninjato that Haku had thrown. "I should have made sure that son of a bitch was dead when I was a kid." Zabuza's arms were covered in small, but bloody, cuts. The Hunter however had several deeper wounds and a split in his temple. "He decided to study sword breaker skills, but they were useless with only kunai as weapons. Only good for chipping the Kubikiribocho, which is a pointless goal."

Sakura steps forward and reaches a hand out toward the swordsman. "Would you like me to fix up your arms Zabuza-san? It shouldn't take long." Accepting the offer, Zabuza extends his arms with a glare on his face directed to the pink haired teen.

"Relax Zabuza. She is specifically trained as a medic, and the best in several years." Kushina says as she hits him in the shoulder once. Within a minute Zabuza's right arm is fixed and Sakura is starting on the left. Taking hold of the the man's limb, the pinkette turns it slightly and lowers her head as she inspects the damage.

With a soft huff Sakura begins to gather chakra in her hands as she begins to heal the swordsman. As the green glow comes to life on her palms a slight shifting goes unnoticed at the pile of downed enemies. The wounds healing is slower than it should be, something that the young medic notices almost immediately. "I think you've been poisoned Zabuza-san. The cuts aren't closing up right."

With a quick curse Zabuza looks at Sakura. "Kiri ninja tend to use a lot of poisons. I would say that guy used an older one, something that I wouldn't be immune to." Sakura nods as she carefully smells a few of the cuts, picking up on a slightly flowery scent that she isn't able to place easily.

"It's a purple flower. I forget the name, but it has blood thinning enzymes in its stem. The leaves of the stem have a concentrated amount as well." Naruko chimes in as she caught the smell too. "We covered it in the stealth and poisons joint class last year."

Zabuza nods as he thinks it over. "Sounds right. It is about a thirty year old poison that Kiri stopped using before the civil war." Zabuza looked at the cuts half heartedly. "The Hunters should have an antidote on them somewhere. I think it was a sickly green color with a sludge like consistency." With a slight huff Sasuke moved over to the pile and quickly found a phial of the green gunk in the weapons pouch of Zabuza's opponent. The former Kiri loyal took the glass tube and drained the contents after removing his face wrappings.

"The mist will clear soon, so let's finish this quick." Sakura nodded to the assassin's words as she bent her neck to check the healing rate of the cuts, finding a normal response to her application of medical ninjutsu. As the medic worked on her patient, no one noticed the last to be added hunter pick up the sword used by his comrade with a hole in his chest, and make a quick rush to his target. Taking aim the silent figure planned to take Zabuza's arm, even if he had to take the pinkette's head first. As the mute swung his weapon downward he was noticed by the Uchiha of the group, as well as the Namikaze, who took action immediately.

Sasuke reached out and pulled Sakura away from Zabuza. The nuke-nin noticed the sudden withdrawal and jumped back as the medic was pulled to safety. Naruko lifted her weapon and met the smaller sword with her own. As the hunter applied more force his blade bit into the large slab of sharpened steel and cleaved through it like butter, to the shock and horror of the blond holding it. The hunter's swing did not stop though, continuing down and across the girl's right eye, making her draw back and scream in pain.

Dropping the remains of her sword Naruko brought a hand to her eye as she hunched over, making herself as small as possible, as she fought back tears. 'FUCK! My sword and eye are both ruined.' With half her field of vision now a black void the blond missed the hunter coming for her again. Lost to her own thoughts she also missed her pink haired teammate trying to aid her.

During his rush the hunter failed to hear the roar of anger from Kushina, a roar that carried ancient power and raw hate. Kakashi and Zabuza turned towards the red head, not missing the violent change in the atmosphere. Her body was engulfed in a boiling, blood red, chakra that flowed slowly into a one tailed cloak with two long ears on it's head. As the power was released and enveloped the mother it began to burn away the skin in some places, most noticeably on her cheeks in the shape of three thick lines on each side of her mouth.

As the cloak solidified so too did a second and third tail, before Kushina's normal chakra flared up in the shape of a set of chains that wound their way around the red chakra. The two additional tails were the first parts to be suppressed by the golden chains, being held down against the back of the malicious red energy. As soon as the tails were contained the chains wrapped around the jinchuuriki's arms, legs, and torso. With a sudden jolt the chains where pulled tight around her form, the chains retracting into their point of origin at the middle of her back.

In the second it took for both Jonin to realize the situation Kushina was gone from sight and back in front of the hunter. Her hand shot out and grabbed at the man's face, the cloak gripping his head firmly as it began to burn his skin and squeeze the skull. Before the bijuu's might could claim the kill Zabuza grabbed his sword and removed the man's head from his shoulders, leaving the body to flop to the bridge's surface. "Let's see you survive that, bastard," Zabuza huffed out just as the hunter's cranium gave into the force and was crushed like a grape. Kushina then began to turn her attention towards the crowd of mercenaries and their employer on the other side of the bridge.

With a quick movement she was among the horde of dirty men. Her current connection to the beast sealed inside her gave the Uzumaki head a strange understanding of the men's feelings. Lust was the first thing she noticed, but that was short lived as the group began to recognize the danger present. Terror, it was everywhere around her but coming strongest from the shortest member of the crowd. Anger, a weak feeling among the mix that seemed to be coming more from fear. With a slow swing of her hand Kushina threw the person closest to her into the wall of the bridge, a sickening crack as the man went limp and fell backwards into the water below.

During this display of power Kakashi had enlisted Haku in helping to move his injured student further from the area while Sakura began to inspect the damage. Naruko was not making it an easy task as even the slightest touch caused the injury to burn in pain again, making her pull away from whoever it was in her large blind spot. The blond's pain was also blocking her from hearing Yoko as the chakra girl tried to calm her. "I need someone to hold her steady! I might still be able to save the eye." With this both the Hyoton user and the Uchiha grabbed hold of her arms and held them out to her sides while Kakashi took hold of her head and placed it between his parted knees. With Naruko secured by the three males Sakura began to flow chakra to her hands as she inspected the cut. "The eye is damaged, but the nerves should be fine. We'll have to hold her down a bit more, I need to treat the eye itself before the rest of the damage."

With practiced skill Sakura began to apply a thick supply of numbing chakra to the damaged areas, keeping her hands over the eye until Naruko visibly relaxed. The pinkette then began to add a prolonging aspect to the chakra, to keep it numb while she worked. "Okay, you should be able to loosen up a bit. She shouldn't feel much of anything for a bit." Sakura quickly moved closer to her teammate's head as she began to work. She carefully parted the eyelid as one finger began to glow green before being pressed delicately onto the eye, mending it. As the jelly like tissue was joined and repaired by her chakra, Sakura felt a slight change in the chakra network of the eye that made the fluid like feeling of the blond's energy come across as more hot and wild. When her chakra stopped its work Sakura looked at the eye again, as she inspected the once damaged eye she bit the inside of her cheek. Naruko's pupil had changed, taking on a slightly oval shape vertically but more pointed than rounded. 'I'll have to follow up on that. It should be just like it was before the injury.'

Changing focus the pink haired teen began to mend the skin of the eyelid as Zabuza rejoined the group, retrieving Kakashi to help him keep Kushina contained until the kyuubi's power was flushed from her system. As the exchange between the older ninja became a cemented plan Sakura was finishing her work, the only remains of the injury being a very light scar no longer than the radius of a five ryo coin*. Sitting back the med-nin opened one of her supply pouches and popped two smaller but dense soldier pills into her mouth, and one into her fellow teen's mouth. Naruko began to feel the effects of the pill as soon as it entered her system and opened her eyes, the anesthetic style chakra having knocked her out now wearing off. With a bit of confusion coating her voice the blond touched her eye gingerly, not feeling pain but noticing a change in sensitivity to visual stimuli. 'Ugh Yoko, why do I feel like I went a few rounds with an Akimichi? And why does light hurt so much?'

'Sakura was able to fix your eye but it wasn't going to be completely repaired. Further distances would have become an issue, so I tried to add my own chakra to the eye to mitigate that change.' The fox girl's voice carried a tone of pride, and hope, as she explained before approaching the subject of Kushina. 'Kaa-san also lost control. She's being consumed by the Kyuubi's power... She is tearing through Gato's men like a wild beast, we need to find a way to stop her.' As energy and feeling returned to the blond she stood carefully and waved off Sakura's fretting.

"I'll be okay, but we need to stop Kaa-san. Kakashi and I are the only two with sealing experience." Naruko stood, her knees locked as she regained coordination in the limbs. With a take charge attitude the Namikazi girl began to dish out orders and making a small platoon of shadow clones to assist the other teens.

"The clones will keep guard for you while you do your jobs." Naruko met the eyes of the three as she talked, going from one to the next. "Sasuke, you'll need to lead her into the trap with shuriken, kunai, and as much ninja wire as you can." With this she handed her pseudo brother a storage scroll and a group of five clones. "Sakura, you'll stay back to assist anyone who is injured on our side and provide visual cover." Naruko then handed the medic a rope, with several smoke bombs secured to it, and a bottle of soldier pills. "Haku, take your clones and start setting up as large of an ice cage as you can." Two groups, of five clones each, stepped up and followed their assigned wards.

With slow methodical movements Naruko began to go over any seals she could use to suppress the power currently burning away at her mother. 'Nothing I know is strong enough to resist that much rage.' Thinking back to any of her lessons with Jiraiya, the blond suddenly remembered the seal that the Toad Sage had used on the orange haired teen with anger issues. 'It could work, if it is able to siphon and trap nature energy.' Continuing to call up the specifics of that seal Naruko started with the basic goal for the intricate mark. "It needs to harvest chakra." Naruko began to draw this seal on the palm of her left hand.

With the purpose clear Naruko made a small spiraling mark starting at the pad below her thumb, barely noticeable spots in the curling form containing the actual complex parts of the starting point. "Next it should store what it collects." This time she drew a line that started at the inside of the spiral and cut through it, before curving to make it's way up to the tip of her middle finger. "It also needs to strengthen itself with what it collects." Without lifting her finger from her palm, the blond teen brought the mark back down her finger and made a single curly que after the third knuckle and brought the line to the right side of her palm.

With a soft sigh Naruko looked down at her palm. "I feel like I am overlooking something." As she thought over her work a loud and deep metallic shattering sound was heard before the pale form of Zabuza came sailing through the air, his sword less than a foot long, before rolling onto his feet and running back towards the Uzumaki woman. A clone from each of the teens' platoons popped to let their creator know everything was set up. Driven by the sudden info Naruko stood and rushed off, pushing any worries away as the young kitsune inside her tried to inform her of the error she had made.

Following the oppresive bloodlust that was the kyuubi's chakra Naruko found the once pristine bridge as a war zone. The entire surface was littered with bent and ruined kunai while a large enclosure of ice mirrors surrounded the mass of red energy. Sakura was currently treating a chakra low Haku with a few soldier pills to refill his reserves, and Sasuke was watching as Kakashi and Zabuza both tried to contain the enraged redhead with low power jutsu.

The top of this dome was about sixteen feet in the air, and so the blonde ran up to the top mirror and looked into the trap. With a quick prayer, and chakra charge to the seal Naruko jumped in, aiming to land on her mother's back. As she got close though, the head of the Uzumaki family jumped to the side, spinning as she went, with a leg out and caught the Genin girl in the side. The kick had more power than normal behind it, setting the teen off course but gave her the opening she needed too.

Reaching out Naruko took hold of her mother's ankle, using her left hand, and instantly regretted it. The seal came to life as it made contact, absorbing the maliscious chakra into itself and then into the person marked by the improvised seal. The palm of Naruko's hand quickly turned an agitated pink color, and then paled and blistered. The blond's entire body felt like liquid fire, and her sunset haired sister wasn't fairing anybody.

As the seal continued to absorb the Kyuubi's chakra the pain grew. When the Namikazi girl tried to pull away she found her hand unresponsive to her commands, the muscles locked up to try and avoid more pain. She could feel the cloak shrink down as her hand held the contact. Naruko's throat felt like she had been forced to swallow knives as she screamed through a clenched jaw. With a

While Naruko felt like she had been stuffed into a box full of hellfire, Yoko wasn't feeling much better. Due to sharing memories with Naruko she felt all of her sister's pain as if it was her own, on top of the pain that roared through her own chakra. The chakra construct's entire body was reacting, her fox features tucked away. Her tail was down and between her legs, while her ears were pressed flat against her skull. The secret daughter of Kushina could also feel her teeth pressing deep into her lip as well, until the soft skin gave and blood slowly flowed down her chin in a pencil thin river of red. As Yoko cowered and shook from the feeling her brain slightly registered new feelings along the backs of her thighs.

The pain was constant for both girls until there was suddenly nothing. Naruko's hand let go of Kushina as soon as the cloak was gone, dropping the girl to the damaged bridge as she lost consciousness. With her link to the real world cut off Yoko also fell unconscious due to exhaustion and pain. Both sisters were wiped out while also more energized than ever before, and between the two states of being, tired was the overpowering feeling when added to the amount of pain.

Kushina rose on weak legs, slowly lifting herself off the pavement of the bridge. Her body ached in a way that she knew only using the Kyuubi's power could generate. Looking around she recognised the hyoton technique surrounding her. Inspecting herself gingerly Kushina found most of her skin to be either burned lightly or burned away, only for it all to heal quickly. As she watched the wounds close without even a scar she heard the sounds of landing ninja and an aching kind of groan from her feet.

Her eyes traveled down to find her daughter panting and passed out on the bridge, the blond suffering from minor burns on the palm of her hand and near her wrist. Kushina came to some form of reason for her daughter to be injured in such a way quickly, having seen Minato with similar burns one time when he had had to reinforce her seal. Her full concern instantly went to her daughter, forgetting about her own injuries as she did so.

As Zabuza and Kakashi approached her she could hear the wary tones as they talked. Suddenly a calloused hand gripped her shoulder in a strong but caring way that drew her attention to the former Kiri ninja. Zabuza had avoided most of the harm directed at him by using water jutsu to shield himself, but still had a rapidly darkening bruise on his chest from when he had been thrown aside and the Kubikiribocho shattered.

The red head swayed slightly before Zabuza caught her by both shoulders, letting her rest her body against his. Worry still flooded her eyes as she watched the silver haired Jonin try to wake the unconscious blond. When he got no response Sakura stepped up to check on her, running through a few diagnostic jutsu, but was unable to find anything as the Kyuubi's chakra threw off her readings. Sasuke was called over to carry the teen, resting her on his back as they readied to leave.

As the ninja were about to leave Gato came out of hiding with his two body guards. The shorter of the three was a nervous wreck, while the two swordsmen were shaken but still trying to do their job. When Zabuza readied his sword the duo gained some confidence, thinking he was a much smaller threat, until the Kiri ninja touched the broken weapon to a pool of blood left behind from Kushina's rampage and it started to repair itself.

As the sword slowly mended, resharpened, and worked its way to its regular size and shape, the crimson puddle shrank. Soon the sword was twice as long as it was after being broken, and the bridge's surface was clean again. Carefully he let go of the red haired woman, letting her lean on the silver haired jonin, and with a sudden charge Zabuza made his way to the two men and brought his weapon down on one of their swords, snapping the cheap metal and cutting into the man wielding it. The other lost his nerve, his blade falling from his hand, before the cleaver took his head from his shoulders. The blood from both body guards sank into the hefty steel like water into a sponge.

Turning his attention to the man who hired him Zabuza made his way to stand in front of Gato, causing the tyrant to fall backwards onto his ass. Readying a swing, the man from Kiri was stopped when the voice of an unknown individual called out. Looking in the direction the gathered ninja found a crowd of Nami's town people. Every man and woman present had some kind of weapon, be they improvised or actual weapons.

"If Gato is to die he should first be found guilty and then punished by those he wronged." An elderly man stepped forward from the group, his aged features obscured by a dense graying beard. His voice firm and demanding, but also giving, respect. Hearing a chance of mercy Gato crawled to the mob as tears filled his beady eyes, the rough ground under his knees tearing holes into the pants. "We will not be merciful, only fair."

About to refuse the old man's wish, Zabuza was stopped by Kushina. "Zabuza, stop. Our daughter needs to rest. Please let them take care of this themselves." The worry for the blond teen was hard to ignore, and so with a sigh the former Kiri ninja handed the remains of his weapon to the last Yuki and took the girl from her black haired teammate. Once the Namikaze girl was securely on his back the group began a long and slow walk back to Tazuna's home.


	16. Chapter 16

Naruko: The Story Retold

By: dbrame91

This will be a part one of two chapter, the second will be a Kushina view to go parallel to this, so it will be more like a Chapter 12.5. Going to give you a warning, there will be a lemon scene in this chapter. I will mark it out at both the start and end if you want to ignore it.

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Chapter 12: Naruko  


It was late at night when the group of five teens and three adults reach the large gates of Konoha. The mission in Nami no Kuni officially ended two weeks after the battle for the bridge. The first two days after the battle Naruko had spent unconscious, her body trying to regulate the sudden supply of Kyuubi chakra trapped in her system by the now healed over seal on her hand. When she awoke Kushina was the first person there to fill her in on what happened.

With a weak laugh she had tried to play off the idiocy of the mistakes she had made. The first being a complete underestimation of just how much raw power the Kyuubi possessed. The second mistake was not drawing her improvised seal in a mirror image, which was why she had absorbed the bijuu chakra instead of it being suppressed within her mother again. The third mistake was the use of an on-the-spot designed seal when she had just begun to understand the almost lost ninja art, a mistake that had taken more lives than most people would think.

After waking up it was another three days before she was allowed out of bed, the entire time her connection to Yoko went unchecked. The blond's chakra control had been shot, as evidenced by her attempts at even the easiest exercise leading to failure, for that first day she was allowed out of bed. The missing connection between the sisters went unnoticed until the Namikaze heiress tried to ask the kitsune image of herself for advice. It was with slow and careful progress that Naruko reopened the connection, having to use the same method she had first used to find herself in the chakra girl's room.

Gato had been tried publicly by the people of Nami, an event that even the Konoha ninja were roped into, in a trial that only took two days. During the proceedings Naruko and Kushina had both been asked to step up as witnesses against the small man. During her report of the events that included her Naruko brought up how she had "been given" the rights to Gato's company by a drunken version of the man, a claim that Gato denied immediately. It was during the delivery of the verdict that Naruko succeeded in finding her way back to her sister's room. The act of doing so accidentally flaring her chakra roughly, expelling a portion of the bijuu chakra still in her system that scorched the wooden bench she was sitting on, and scaring the amassed civilians present.

Yoko coming back had drawn the swordswoman's complete attention internally. Naruko started with trying to go over everything that happened after they had lost consciousness. It wasn't until half way through the rambling that she stopped. Yoko hadn't been paying attention, too consumed with looking at herself. She now had three tails, each identical and fully under her control, and her ears seemed a bit shaggier than normal. Realizing that she didn't have Yoko's attention, Naruko also began to inspect what used to be a mirror of her with additional features. Yoko still looked the same, no differences between the girls' proportions, but she felt instinctually more beastial.

The fur inside her ears was a bit lengthier, barely longer canines that pressed slightly into her bottom lip, where she used to have only her single tail now swished three identical tails, and the nails at the ends of her fingers were long and sharp now. Each tail was the same shade as her hair and tipped with a small amount of white. The fox girl's eyes were now a deep red, filled with worry and surprise causing them to shine brightly with a barely contained power. Naruko also noticed six long black lines along the girl's cheeks, the lines were angled kind of like a child's drawing of sun rays getting further from each other the further out from the middle of her face they got. As more minute changes came to light Naruko also picked up more on her sister's presence. Not that she was standing next to her or exactly where she was, she could feel the well of bijuu chakra that her body had taken in and apparently gave to the red haired chakra teen.

While between the new features and boost of chakra Yoko could easily be more intimidating she was also more alluring, in an elegant way. Her posture belied strength and grace in equal parts. Her hair seemed to cling to her back, showing off her body shape gently. Whenever she moved Yoko's body was slow but purposeful, easily moving as if weights had suddenly been taken off of her limbs. The overall effect was a lot to take in but both teens worked through the confusion before playing real world catch up.

After Naruko returned her awareness to outside of herself, and everyone calmed back down, the proceedings went on slowly. Gato was to be executed. He would be tied up like his men had done to a man named Kaiza, a man who had been viewed as a hero and became a part of Tazuna's family. Unlike Kaiza's execution though Gato would be left out to slowly die, with just enough food and water to keep him from dying too quickly. Haku and Zabuza decided to take turns watching over the site, making sure that any of Gato's men who may have escaped from, or not been present at, the destruction that had become the bridge site on that day did not come to free the tiny man.

Once Gato's trial was complete and all the Konoha ninjas were rested they began to assist with the island civilians. A week later Gato died on his stake, the bridge was finished, and a celebration for both accomplishments was held the night before the ninja returned to Konoha. All those in the group chose to cross the bridge on foot, and much of the trip was taken at a slower pace with short bursts of travel at ninja speeds. And now here they were, the great gates of Konoha and they could already see the gate guards stepping out of their shack to collect the team's paperwork and identifications. The look on the faces of the two Chuunin when they saw the infamous swordsman as the team's "prisoner" was worth the annoyance of being stopped and held up at 11 o'clock in the evening.

Once inside the village Naruko split from the group, leaving a clone behind to go with her team. "Were are you going Naruko?" Kushina asked as her daughter tried to escape. "You need to check in and give your short report on the mission with the rest of us." The redhead said as she crossed her arms and stared down the blond, one eye squinting.

"I'm going to go sleep. Also I _am_ sending a clone, which is as good as me going, for the report." Naruko explains as she tucked a few loose strands of hair back behind her ear and starting to walk off again. Suddenly she felt a bit awkward as her brain processed the memories returned from her clone, and the pain of having her ear pulled. With one hand on her right ear and looking to where her doppelganger had stood, finding her mother's arm outstretched to where its ear would have been. "Oh come on, that is just mean. You know the Kage Bunshin would be just as good as the original."

"You can't just pick and choose what obligations you need to follow through with. It is also exceedingly rude to send a clone to meet with the Hokage." The red haired matron of the Uzumaki household replied as she crossed her arms over the front of her Jonin vest again. Her tone and glare demanding submission on the point.

"Just one more difference between Konoha and Kiri I guess." When everyone looked over at Zabuza he shrugged nonchalantly. "What? I always used to send clones to give in my reports." Looking around again he huffs indignantly. "It probably never helped my standing with the Mizukage, but it was a good use of a skill that was often under appreciated." As everyone is focusing on Zabuza no one, except for the swordsman, notices Naruko making a water clone before running off.

Five minutes later finds the Namikaze girl outside the Hyuuga compound, along a side wall. As she sneaks around outside the estate she taps a finger randomly in the air from time to time, feeling quick shocks from some kind of seal generated barrier as she does. 'So lame. Thinking that this will keep anyone out... Well maybe a cloud ninja would have an issue.' Stopping in her wonderings she looks down at the ground carefully for any signs of disturbance along the ground of the alleyway. 'Yoko, you think they put this one together just for me?'

'With how often we have found our own ways into the grounds, it isn't a complete impossibility. Maybe we could apply a seal to a kunai to try and cut through this one? It might work better with the additional Kyuubi chakra we have now.' The chakra constructed kitsune muses as she slowly brushes one of her tails. 'We could also try an underground assault... Or just ask to be allowed in at the front gate?'

'Where's the fun in that? Plus, Hinata loves little surprises.' Keeping her eyes on the ground she finds a slight patch of shuffled dirt, like someone taking a sudden turn. Stopping, she brushes the dirt a bit and finds a loose cobblestone beneath. Taking out one of her preferred kunai she slowly pulls the stone loose and finds the underside is painted with a basic first tier seal painted onto it. 'Bingo!' Taking a few seconds to go over it carefully she pulls out a random slip of paper and burns a temporary shut off seal onto it, before applying it to the seal on the stone and then testing the barrier.

This time the shock is greater, apparently the shut off being on a dampening aspect of the seal. With another look at the ink on the stone Yoko speaks up again. 'The third aspect has a hidden fourth key in it. Adjust your seal with a line through the middle that suddenly goes right to curve.' Yoko explains as she provides an image of her directions. With a shrug and a quick flourish Naruko does as advised. This time when she tests the barrier she isn't stopped at all. Once on the other side she takes the paper off the stone and fits it back into place carefully, allowing the barrier to come back to life with her inside it now.

Putting all of her stealth skills to use Naruko slips over the wall with no sound, avoiding even lightly landing on the clay tiles along the top of it, and pulls her form deep into a nearby bush. Spreading some of the branches away from her face she looks around, trying to find any trace of a patrol. Not spotting a single soul, or a single light on in the surrounding houses, the blond sneaks from shadow to shadow until she is near the main house. With a gentle touch she sticks her left hand to the tiles above her head and pulls herself up. Taking a few seconds to double check the area she takes a few long and slow strides till she is underneath her moon eyed friend's window before taking another one of her kunai and slipping the latch up to unlock it.

A second later she opens the window and pulls herself through carefully. Looking at Hinata's alarm next to her bed Naruko smiles, 'Record timing.' Slipping off her sandals Naruko eases her way closer to the bed and gently shakes the blue haired teen awake. The Hyuuga heiress opens her eyes gingerly, her sight blurry with sleep, before suddenly swinging an arm out instinctively. Forgetting to add chakra to the blow it is a quick palm strike that pushes the blond back a bit. Getting out of bed Hinata's night gown billows out flowing gracefully as her feet meet the carpeted floor. Hearing a slight hiss at the attack Hinata blinks her eyes a few times to clear them before pulling her hands to her mouth.

In a whisper Hinata approaches the other teen, "Naruko-chan what are you doing here? What time is it?" Looking around she finds her clock and gasps again. "Midnight? It is so late. Thank goodness I don't have to report for a team meeting tomorrow." Looking back at Naruko a soft smile forms on her lips at seeing her for the first time in several weeks.

"Kuso," Naruko curses in a soft whisper with both eyes closed. "Sorry Hina-chan. I just got back from my mission and I wanted to surprise you." As the words leave her mouth Naruko is enveloped in the other girl's embrace, as her arms wrap around the blond's abdomen. Opening one eye slightly and barely smiling she leans in and kisses the other heiress. "Even with getting hit, I still prefer this to going and seeing the Hokage to report in." Naruko giggles as Hinata blushes a light pink before helping her up and crossing the room to her bed. Helping the blond shrug off her jacket Hinata looks at the place she hit, finding no bruising or signs of her chakra having been fed into area.

With a slight application of an anesthetic jutsu Hinata numbs the spot carefully before releasing the hold on her chakra. "Th-there you go Naruko-chan," the Hyuuga teen says as she pulls her hand away. As her hand rests gently in her lap with it's double, the blue haired girl is hugged spontaneously and pushed down to the bed carefully, Naruko using her whole body to guide the change of position. A fresh blush lighting across her cheeks Hinata begins to stammer softly, "N-Naru..." Her words being stopped by the blond bringing her lips to the other girls, absorbing Hinata's entire attention and supply of air as the kiss slowly drags on.

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Lemon Warning: Start

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Pulling away, Naruko locked her gently glazed blue eyes with the, lightly purpled, white eyes of her lover. Blinking vacantly Naruko refocuses on Hinata and reaches the bottom hem of her shirt to lift it over her head in a quick motion before reclaiming Hinata's lips in a soft kiss. The blue haired girl drapes her arms around the blond's neck as she pulls herself up a bit to deepen the kiss with a contented sigh. The kiss doesn't last long though as Naruko snakes a hand up Hinata's night wear and lets her nails glide over the toned stomach, her fingers coming inward as she closes her hand before opening the fingers again and letting the extremity work its way further up to the other teen's ample chest.

Naruko smirked as she heard Hinata's breath catch while her hand playfully explored the Hyuuga heiress's soft breasts. Trying to catch her breath Hinata broke the kiss, panting softly as Naruko continued to tease her nipples, rubbing her fingers across them before giving them small kneading twists between her forefinger and thumb. With a mischievous look in her eye Naruko slowly guided the bottom hem of the form hiding garment up to expose the beautifully pale skin underneath, and stopped just before the apex of her toned legs.

With a gentle, guiding, hand the blond parted Hinata's legs and kissed her right thigh from her knee to just before her core. Repeating the process Naruko slowly traveled down the shuddering bluenette's left thigh. Letting her teeth scrape playfully across the comparably pale skin, Naruko teased the accepting teen's desires before carefully working her arms under the legs of her lightly panting lover for support. Once both got comfortable with their positions the blonde looks up into Hinata's eyes and smiles as her head lowers closer, before her mouth disappeared from view and Hinata's senses go haywire as she felt the light ministrations of her fellow kunoichi.

Bringing the back of her hand to her mouth Hinata's pants slowly work up to soft moans as her hips wiggled weakly. Naruko's tongue slowly crossed along the Hyuuga heiress's core in a drawn out rhythm. Each pass of her tongue traced the contours slowly with gentle grazes of her teeth. As the treatment continued Hinata's moans gained volume and her eyelids grew closer.

Happily obliging to the cues, Naruko continued her work. When Hinata hit the point where she was unable to reach her peak, Naruko began to run her thumb over the other teen's weak spot. The Hyuuga's hips bucked suddenly as she felt the additional contact and gasped as the blond's thumb continued to work at her bundle of nerves. With continued teasing Hinata was worked closer to her limit until she finally hit her release. As the white eyed heiress released her pent up pleasure, Naruko pulled away to trail kisses up Hinata's stomach as she ran one of her slender fingers across the expecting slit. With a sharp gasp Hinata's release covered her fellow teen's finger and left herself panting as she felt the blond's skilled digit slowly slip inside her.

With a pur to her voice Naruko leaned into Hinata's ear and whispered, "I love that face you make Hinata-chan, but now I want you to help me." The blond let her finger dive in and out of her lover with a rhythmic movement that caused her to squirm and pant. "Will you make me feel good too Hinata-chan?" Naruko's finger rubbed a bit harder as she asked, her free hand going to the bottom hem of her shirt and guiding it over her head to drop it to the floor next to the Hyuuga heiress's bed. As Hinata nodded in reply a smile grew on the Namikazi's face.

With a smooth movement Naruko rolled herself onto her back, bringing Hinata with her so that she was hovering over the blond. Hinata's legs and arms were a bit shaky as she supported herself, leaning in a bit closer and planting her lips happily on the blond's. As the Hyuuga teen came back down from her previous climax she forced herself to stay in position with just her legs as she helped her lover out of the calf length pants, and the underwear under the single layer. Naruko assisted the blue haired girl by angling her hips up and off the mattress. As Hinata removed the garments her hands ran over her partner's shapely ass. As Hinata's actions got bolder and more confident Naruko's smile grew wider, until Hinata lowered her mouth to the blond's right breast and began to tease the pink bud at it's peak.

Each of Hinata's kisses sent warmth through the blond as she accepted the tender contact. With a well practiced hand the white eyed heiress began to play with her blond lover's other breast, kneading it slowly and letting her thumb run across the nipple. Naruko's breaths began to grow more shallow as she was teased and kissed, trying to push herself into her lover more, wanting the other heiress to keep going. "Oh kami. Mmmm, Hinata." Releasing the blond's nipple from her mouth, Hinata met her eyes with a thin strand of saliva connecting her bottom lip to the bud she had released before moving over to the other breast and using her right hand to massage the one she had just been teasing.

Naruko's breath catches when she feels Hinata's mouth on her other breast before lightly biting at her nipple. As she feels the teeth graze her skin she shivers and runs a hand through the dark hair of her fellow teen. Hinata's lips turned upwards as she smiled happily, it was always worth surprising the blond to hear the way she would gasp. As the bluenette's mouth and right hand continued to tease her fellow heiress her free slid carefully over the toned stomach of the sunkissed blond and down to her core. With another quick hitch of breathe Naruko's eyes opened a bit wider as she ground herself into her friend's hand, moaning softly as she did.

Emboldened by the moans and slight grinding of Naruko's hips Hinata let one finger trace along the outside of the blond's womanhood, taking care to rub Naruko's more sensitive areas. As the Jyuuken user reached the bundle of nerves she circled it a few times, earning several breathy moans as the blond rocked harder into her hand. With a gentle but quick movement Hinata slipped a finger into Naruko's expecting sex, the blond's bodily fluids aiding in the careful piston motion of Hinata's finger. Releasing Naruko's nipple Hinata moved herself upwards, kissing the Namikaze along her neck, jawline, and finally to her ear before whispering to her. "Mmm Naruko, do you want more?" As the blond nodded, trying to keep herself quiet, Hinata let a second finger find its home inside the blonde.

Naruko took a sharp breath as she enjoyed the feeling. Slowly grinding her hips against Hinata's hand Naruko began to moan a bit louder. Hinata leaned into the blond's ear a bit more and began to nibble and lick at the shell of the ear. Keeping her movements slow and dragging against the blond's walls, the Hyuuga brought her companion to the edge of release before stopping. Naruko moaned her discontent, grinding her hips slowly, as she waited for Hinata to start again. Naruko's moans turned into wimpers as she continued to wiggle under the other heiress. "Tell me what you want Naruko."

The blonde moaned weakly as her hips continued to move in small circles, "Please don't stop Hinata. I'm so close." Naruko stopped her grinding when she answered, panting lightly as she met the Hyuuga's eyes. As she waited for the paler teen to start again. Hinata leaned in and captured her lips in a soft kiss that grew in hunger as she licked the blond's lips to request access to her mouth. Naruko happily obliged when their lips met again, letting her own tongue dance with the invading pink muscle until she felt Hinata restart her ministrations, causing the Uzumaki heiress to lose focus for a fraction of a second.

With her new found domination of the blond's mouth Hinata explored the warm cavity slowly. Each slow drag of her fingers along Naruko's walls made her barely shudder. Every time her fingers went into her lover Hinata made the inward motion a little faster, letting the tips of her fingers rub against the deepest places. To reward the enjoyable contact Naruko wrapped her arms around Hinata's shoulders and pulled herself up to deepen the kiss as moans flowed into the kiss. In answer to the blond's lifting of herself Hinata carefully brought her arm behind the other teen to help support her as she increased her speed again.

After three more deep reaching thrusts Naruko hit her peak, not breaking lip contact as she released her pent up pleasure. The blond could feel the slickness from her fluid on the insides of her thighs, as well as on Hinata's hand which was carefully removed from her tender core. With a content sigh Naruko kissed her fellow teen again and nuzzled her face into the other's neck. "Kami, I missed that." With another kiss she leaned back, bringing the Hyuuga in her arms with her as she intertwined their legs. Hinata brought herself in closer as well, enjoying the closeness to the person she loved.

The two laid there together for several minutes, Naruko leaving a faint kiss somewhere on Hinata's face while the usually timid teen smiled and casually let her hand glide along the blond's torso. Still feeling aroused the young Namikaze woman used her leg to playfully brush along the delicate petals of Hinata's core, earning a soft moan and the wondering hand of her lover to move to one of her breasts. Taking the mutual sexual advance as a sign of consent Naruko let her kisses linger longer and closer to the white eyed girl's lips, marking every kiss with another rub of her leg against Hinata's groin. As the blond continued her teasing Hinata returned the favor, starting to rub her leg against the blond in a similar rhythm matched by her rubbing of the pink tip to Naruko's breast.

Both teens continued their teasing, which slowly escalated to more intimate actions. The two grew more aroused with each little tease until they suddenly found themselves both hitting their own climaxes again at about 2 in the morning. Panting lightly they shared another kiss as she drew themselves together and Naruko covered them with a blanket, noticing her Hyuuga slowly succumb to exhaustion.

* * *

Lemon End

* * *

It wasn't until morning that the two teens awoke. When they did it was to the sound of angry Hyuuga voices that started outside of the main house and eventually worked its way inside, before remaining on the first floor of the large clan home. The rising volume of the voices waking Hinata first, who tried to wake her blond companion only to be grabbed in a full body hug and pulled back down to the mattress. The bluenette's squirming encouraging the blond to nuzzle in closer, rocking her hips slowly against Hinata's leg.

The heiress to the Namikaze name only waking up when a large slamming sound and shaking of the house occured. Naruko hastily throwing her clothes on as Hinata found her nightwear near the window of the room on the floor. Hinata followed behind Naruko to the top of the stairs. The blond continued down the steps only to stop when an older Hyuuga member from the main family came flying into view, back first and into the stairs. The voice of another branch member yelling out, "We've already told you, the Namikaze girl isn't here." As another crashing sound pervaded the air the voice called out in a different direction. "Subdue him now, and get him out of here...And somebody go to the Uzumaki estate, and tell their clan head to come get this brute!"

An almost animalistic roar came from down the stairs as another Hyuuga is sent through the air. The voice behind the roar a familiar sound with a deep tone to it. The roar turns into wild laughter before stopping and turning into a broken mess of fear. "Oh Kami. P-please just stay away, it's not safe."

Jumping down the rest of the stairs Naruko rushed towards the voice, letting her steps make noise to draw the tall teen's attention. "Juugo, stop. Everything is okay, so please relax." As the orange haired male turned around, Naruko noted damage to his shirt around his left collar bone and the ruined remains of Jiraiya's latest seal on his skin. With her eyes opening slightly she stepped closer, careful to keep her eye on his transforming right arm, as she spoke softly. "Juugo, are you okay? Who hit your seal?" Juugo's response was to look around worriedly before looking at his own arm. Lifting his arm Juugo pointed to the man who had been thrown into the stairs.

Creeping closer Naruko put a hand near the damage and examined the seal. It was a mess, the strike had been placed near the top of the design and between the force of the strike and the burst of chakra it had shattered. There were lines of uninked skin that flashed through the intricate line work of the seal, making it look like shards of glass, and the damage also ruined some of the aspects intended to operate the seal's workings. "Kuso. He destroyed the inhibiting parts of the seal." As she applied chakra to her fingertips she caught a slight motion before jumping back to dodge the wild swing. Keeping her attention on his eyes it was clear that Orochimaru's former lab rat was not in control of that attack. Rushing forward Naruko threw herself at him, taking him down to the ground and out into the courtyard, before trying to ensnare the arm.

With a quick jerking motion of the arm she was thrown off of Juugo as he jumped back to his feet. His transformation spreading into his face, and one eye taking on a look of focused haziness. His unchanged features still set in looks of fear. Trying to hold his arm back Juugo looked at Naruko. "Please, just stay away. I don't want to hurt anyone, Naruko-san." His arm jerked suddenly forward, pulling his upper body into it before he reigned in the motion.

Looking a bit harder at the teen's arm she saw the bruising marks of Juuken strikes on his greyed skin. 'So trying to shut down his chakra points won't help. It will probably just make it worse in fact.' Thinking a bit harder Naruko tried to bring back the design she had used in Wave to suppress the kyuubi chakra, and reverse the image, while also trying to reconstruct the damaged parts of the seal that had already been applied to the tall male. 'Yoko, do you remember the seal?' With an affirmative answer and a flash of memory from the sister made of chakra, Naruko began her plan

With quick use of chakra and a single hand sign Naruko created four shadow clones. The clones each split apart and charged the tall teen. Swinging his enlarged arm around to try and catch the clone to his right in its side. The mass of chakra given human shape leapt back to avoid the arm and returned to its charge as the other three clones grabbed him in different places. One clone jumped on his back and wrapped an arm around his throat. A second then grabbed his monstrous arm and used chakra to stick herself to the ground. The third took hold of his non-transformed arm. Clone number four, the one that had dodged the swinging arm, jumped forward to grab the offending limb as well to provide extra support.

Taking her chance, the blonde ran toward the struggling dog pile and captured the orange haired teen's face between her hands before smashing her lips into his. Forcing chakra to her tongue Naruko worked the pink muscle into the mouth of her clan's ward, and began to apply a rough idea of what the seal on his shoulder had been. Pulling away from him Naruko was ready to move incase the seal didn't work. Juugo was breathing heavy, his eyes a bit unfocused as the greying skin began to recede back to a point near his heart. The three clones holding onto his arms dispersed themselves as the one keeping Juugo in a choke hold eased her arm away and helped lay the teen male down to his back. Hinata and Naruko both approached the laying figure and began to check for any signs of serious harm.

Juugo's eyes snapped open as he pushed himself away from the two. Both approached him carefully, the Namikaze woman taking his hand tenderly to calm him as Hinata continued to inspect his limb for damage and nodded slowly as she cleared any injury she found as non-serious. Forcing the large teen to sit still was the hardest part, as every time Hinata would reach out to him Juugo's first reaction was to flinch away. Once he was calm and Hinata had cleared him Naruko helped him to his feet before hugging him. "Juugo, next time you need to come find me just be polite, and respect when people tall you you can't just go into their homes." Looking up at him Naruko smiled toothily and tightened the hug when her victim of embrace nodded his head.

Letting go of Juugo, the blond turned her attention to the gathered Hyuuga clansmen as her mood turned serious. "Who was the idiot who struck the seal on his shoulder?" When one of the branch members stepped up and claimed it was the man from the elder's who had been used to destroy the stairs Naruko continued. "Why did he think that would be a good idea? Is he an expert in seals? What if it was meant to activate when it came into contact with chakra?" When no one answered, the blond threw her hands in the air with a huff as she began to walk with the hulking teen to the front gate. "Come on Juugo, let's get you home."

The blond then began to walk into the main house, hands on the back of the taller teen, until she stopped and looked over her shoulder to her fellow teen and recent bedmate. "I'll see you later Hinata. We can go and get something to eat for lunch or something. I'll send a clone to let you know." With a nod from the Hyuuga heiress and a wave between the two, Naruko began to guide Juugo back out of the clan compound and onto the main streets of the village.

Once clear of the foreboding walls of the clan's grounds Naruko stopped pushing at Juugo's back and walked side by side with him. "Juugo, was it kaa-san who sent you to find me?" Juugo's only answer was a nod of his head. "So then she probably knows it was a clone that went with them to debrief the Hokage," she muttered to herself before biting at her thumb nail. Turning her head to the left to look at the quiet teen Naruko took in his features more thoroughly. "You're going to need a haircut soon," the blond stated as she studied the tatters of his clothes. Naruko added on, more as an after thought, "Let's go get you a new shirt before we go home. You don't have enough options to pick from, and you usually only wear those old rags from when you were in that snake guy's lab." Taking his hand gingerly Naruko pulled him by the arm slightly, smiling with her eyes closed to reassure him.

It was close to noon when Naruko silently eased the front door of the Uzumaki household open and tiptoed inside, Juugo shuffling behind her. Darting her head back and forth the blonde waited for any signs of any occupants coming to the front entryway, noting several pairs of shinobi sandals and a pair of wooden geta sandals as well. The count meant that everyone was still home, or home again, with an extra pair that the blond recognized as belonging to her pink haired teammate. Quietly slipping off her own sandals Naruko placed them on the floor, angled so the toes were to the door in case she needed to make a sudden escape, and Juugo does the same. The new shirt that Naruko had helped him purchase was a durable brown fabric that was left on the tighter fitting side to keep down any noise made by the garment, but still with enough room to allow for freedom of movement without worry of overtaxing the material.

Slowly bringing a finger to her lips, Naruko signed for Juugo to stay silent as they tried to sneak further into the ancestral abode of the Leaf aligned Uzumaki clan. With practiced steps the blond crept by a few closed doors before being stopped outside of the kitchen, her mother's agitated voice freezing her in place. With an almost mechanical set of slow and jerky motions the teen looked into the room to find it occupied by most of the household's regulars, as well as her Team's teacher. It had been her mother who told her to freeze, as she stood in the kitchen in more civilian style attire. She was wearing a long dress over a simple white shirt, but her hair was up in a high ponytail and she had on a sage green apron over her dress.

Naruko's brain worked slowly as Juugo entered the room and sat at the table uncomfortably. The only thing the filter between her brain and mouth could get out was an indignant comment to Kakashi. "Why do you still have your shoes on Kakashi-sensei? That is very rude to do in anyone's home, especially when it isn't your home." The blond forced out, her body still unresponsive to her attempts to flee.

"Naruko, that is hardly impor-," Kushina began to counter before snapping her head towards the silver haired Jounin. "KAKASHI! GO TAKE OFF YOUR SHOES, NOW! I DON'T KEEP MY HOUSE CLEAN, ONLY TO HAVE YOU KEEP YOUR FILTHY SHOES ON AS YOU STROLL AROUND!" Her voice held an angry rumble to it as she angled her arm back before throwing a wooden spoon at his head. With a quick duck and puff of smoke Kakashi had vacated his seat and walked back in a few seconds later, this time without his sandals on. "And you, Namikaze Naruko, are in soooo much trouble. I told you that you needed to join your team personally when reporting on the mission to the Hokage, and you respond by making a second clone when no one is looking so you can sneak off to do who knows what." Looking over her shoulder to the orange haired teen she directed her next questions to him. "Where was she Juugo? And why did I get a message from a Hyuuga branch member asking me to meet with their clan head in private?"

"Hey! You don't need to ask him, I would have answered honestly." Naruko spoke up, unfreezing from her spot to take a step forward. as her mother rounded on her again the blond stopped, changing her tone to one of respect. "Sorry Kaa-san. I meant to say 'I will answer your questions, Kaa-san.'" Naruko's hands were behind her back, left hand in her right, and her elbows locked into position. trying to avoid eye contact Naruko waited for Kushina to speak.

"Oh really? Okay, let's start small. When did you make the water clone?" The redhead crossed her arms after forming the question.

"After Zabuza said he used to do the same thing, while everyone was focused on him. I don't think he noticed me do it either." Naruko was quick with her reply.

"Where did you go after that, and why?" Kushina's frown grew a bit wider, as the other occupants started to feel uncomfortable.

"I went to the Hyuuga estate. I wanted to say hello to Hinata." Again, the heiress's reply was quick.

"And how did you get into the Hyuuga clan compound?" This time the Uzumaki's head tilted as she spoke, the action more of a menacing one than inquisitive.

"I went over the wall on the eastern side of the clan grounds, between the third tree and the old storehouse." Naruko paused briefly before adding more. "I also had to bypass a barrier, created by an expansive system of average complexity seals, around the outside of the compound walls. The barrier was a new addition since the last time I had visited."

"What about after that, where did you sleep?"

Naruko's cheeks turned a light pink as she directed her attention to her toes. "I spent the night at the Hyuuga compound, where Juugo found me earlier this morning."

Turning around again, Kushina eyed the teen. "Is that true Juugo?"

"I don't know everything, but I did find Naruko-san at the Hyuuga estate as she said." Juugo's answer was careful as he began to feel the weight of the attention directed to him.

With a sigh Kushina looked up at the ceiling before asking her next question. "And is _any_ of that why I have been called upon by the third most annoying male figure on the council?" Looking between the two women Juugo slowly nodded.

"It isn't Juugo's fault Kaa-san. One of the Hyuuga elders hit the seal on his collar bone and damaged it." The blond said quickly. "Without the seal he went crazy and caused some damage, but I was able to get a new one on him." Naruko's arms waved about minimally as she explained. Jiraiya took the most interest in the fact that his seal had been damaged, and requested to see the remains. Juugo obliged the white haired Sannin, pulling on the neck of his shirt to show the shattered seal.

"What about the new seal? Where is it?" Jiraiya asked as he made mental notes about Juuken being able to affect seals such as this. Juugo then opened his mouth and stuck out his tongue. Along the pink muscle was a black mark identical to the one that the white haired man had put on the teen's collar bone. The finer workings of the seal were different, meant to work further from the orange haired male's heart. With his lips grimacing a bit Jiraiya bobbed his head from side to side as he studied and thought over the work. "How do you feel? Is there too much drain, or maybe not enough?" Juugo shook his head.

"No Jiraiya-sama. I feel much like I did with your seal when it was in working condition." Juugo answered.

Jiraiya nodded his head twice and exhaled. "Well the new seal seems to be just as capable as the first, so we will call it okay for now. If anything comes up you need to let Kushina or I know so we can try to take care of it." Juugo responded with a nod of confirmation, remaining in his seat as Kushina takes over the conversation again.

"Well," directing her attention to her daughter, "you have a lot of planning to do today Naruko. Juugo, you need to come with me while I go visit the Hyuuga compound."

"What?! What am I planning for?" The blond's voice was a whine as she tried to refute the possibility of over exerting herself.

This time Kakashi answered. "We are going to be doing some team training to work on that combination you three used against the Hunter-nin, seeing as it proved useful. And we are going to discuss it today before we set up a schedule for the training."

"And we need to replace that broken hunk of steel you are still carrying around in your scroll." Zabuza followed up with. "You never should have been using that thing when you hit your growth spurt. That old sword was meant to last you till you were about ten."

At this Naruko's whine grew in pitch as she slumped her shoulders and looked at the floor. "So now I have go shopping too? This day sucks ass!" As soon as the word had left her mouth Naruko realized her error and tried to duck, expecting her mother to swing the wooden spoon at her, instead of Kakashi, only to be forced to the ground in a mess of golden chakra chains.

"I am sorry Naruko, but there are some things that need to be worked on while we have a few weeks." Kakashi spoke seriously, gaining the attention of all his students. "The Chunin exams are coming up, and I am thinking that you three may be ready, but only after some serious work." Getting up from his spot he met the eyes of all three teens. "We will have two weeks before the exams begin, and there are going to be teams from almost every village participating."

The unspoken warnings were picked up by everyone present. Even some less friendly villages would be sending participants, and that was a big risk for anyone with big-name parentage or heavily desired kekkai genkai. It also meant that criminals from other villages, like Zabuza, would not be able to completely relax. "We also have an idea of who the villages are sending, but that of course can't be shared with possible entrants." Sighing once Kakashi looked at each student before continuing. "So I want you three ready for almost anything, including enemy Seven Swordsmen students and counter chakra affinities.

Suddenly feeling the restraints removed from her body Naruko took up a cross legged sitting position and nodded. "Okay. Can Zabuza and I go take care of the sword stuff?" With a nod from the cycloptic Jonin, Naruko rose to her feet again and patted herself off.

As the blond did so, Zabuza stood as well and approached the head of the Uzumaki household, taking her in a quick hug. "I'll make this trip as short as I can." The ex-Kiri shinobi said. "Wouldn't want to break any rules of my probation," he whispered to her as he tightened the hug lightly and released her.

Kushina nodded and handed the pale man a book of paper slips, with the Uzumaki emblem on the cover. "In case you find something suitable right away or need to put down money in advance... Though Naruko will have to sign when you go to pay, only she or I can use the Uzumaki funds." The redhead explained as she met the man's eyes and smiled. Directing her attention to her daughter Kushina spoke again, "Don't take too long. Just go to the shop near the old Uchiha District. It's the only place Minato went to when he needed his kunai made."

Both the teen and the former mercenary nodded, and made to leave the compound. Kakashi and his two still present students began to discuss their roles in the fight on the bridge and minor tweaks that would probably need to be made. Kushina and Juugo then left the room as well, Kushina having to call for the orange haired berserker to follow as she removed her apron and hair tie. Being left alone at the table, Jiraiya looked over to the ice user who had remained silent the whole time. "So...Are you a guy or a girl?" the older male asked as he watched Haku. "I'm going to guess guy from the silence." They both continued to sit in silence that only grew more awkward as it went before the white haired man got up. "Well, I need to report in to the Hokage on some stuff my spy network picked up so I will see you around from time to time," he said before vanishing in wispy smoke of a shunshin.


	17. Chapter 17

_Naruko: A Story Redone_

By: dbrame91

This chapter starts early on in chapter 16, after Naruko has split up from her party to go find Hinata. Sorry for the delay in release. Between working on the next chapters to my two stories, my job had a change in my hours where I worked most of the time, and starting a relationship, I have been quite busy. Thank you for the understanding everyone, I plan to get actual chapter 17 out sometime soon.

* * *

 **Chapter 12.5: Kushina**

"You're not helping my point Zabuza. I'm trying to teach her responsibility and professionalism." Kushina said in a sigh as she shook her head slightly. "She needs to report in like every other ninja, in every other village, when she returns from a mission," the redhead said as she continued her rant. Crossing her arms under her bust she shot the pale Kiri born man a challenging look.

Shrinking away from the challenge Zabuza shrugged his shoulders and closed his eyes before meeting the Uzumaki matriarch's purple with his brown. "Fine, I'm a bad influence on the blond one and you are right. Now can we get moving again, I would like to get some sleep before the week is over." With a sigh the redhead nodded and restarted the march to the Hokage tower.

Thirty minutes later found the returning ninja in the office of the Hokage, currently waiting for the older man to arrive as they had missed the man on his way home. Kushina had requested that he be notified and that the report was an important issue that needed immediate attention. When the Sarutobi elder arrived he was in his usual robes and hat, though the robes looked more rumpled than normal. "Welcome back. Now I must ask, what is so impor..." The aged man began as he entered before stopping suddenly upon seeing the former Kiri shinobi.

Looking around the room Hiruzen signaled for the door to be closed, an order that was heeded immediately. The Sarutobi man sat down in his seat and with a quick pulse of chakra on the trigger under his desk activated a series of seals to keep any person eavesdropping from hearing something they didn't need to know. "Okay, Now please give your full verbal report from the time that Kushina united with Team 7."

The red haired head of the Uzumaki clan stepped forward, her hands behind her back and posture stiff. "I met with Team 7 roughly forty-eight hours after their request for support, at the house of their mission's client in Nami no Kuni." Kushina began. "Upon arrival the Genin Team and their instructor informed me of the situation. Two hostiles working for a man by the name of Gato had crossed their paths in Koriyo village. Those men were the rogue Kiri shinobi known as the Demon brothers. After dealing with that threat Team 7 continued with their mission and encountered one more hostile, as well as a third party who at the time appeared to be a Kiri Hunter." Taking a breath Kushina met the eyes of the Hokage. "The hostile was Momochi Zabuza and the Hunter was actually an accomplice and student of his, Yuki Haku, both of which were formally apprehended by myself and Team 7 who currently stand before you. Before their capture Zabuza was out of commission for about a week, during which time myself and Uzumaki Naruko infiltrated the hideout of Gato and his men." At this Kushina looked at her blond daughter and motioned for her to take over as she herself stepped back.

Taking the spot her mother had just occupied "Naruko" stood straight with her arms at her side. "During the infiltration I was taken to Gato by his two personal body guards. After encouraging them to start drinking I was able to talk the three into taking me to see the bed ridden Zabuza, after hearing about the shipping magnate's plan to double cross the swordsman." Rolling a shoulder slightly Naruko continued her report. "During the face to face with the prone hostile I was identified by Zabuza but my cover was not blown to the three men who had brought me to him. After a short exchange between Gato, Zabuza, and Haku I was able to pass off a message to Zabuza about the planned betrayal." Taking a steady breath Naruko relaxed slightly before she continued. "After delivering the note Gato, his body guards, and myself returned to the hideout. Once there I encouraged further drinking until all three men were incapacitated. From there I searched Gato's office and found several things of value, including the ownership papers for his company. I then made a passable copy, changing some of the numbers in the license so that it would not work as the actual papers. After that, I reunited with Jonin Uzumaki, and we both returned to our client Tazuna's house."

Taking a step back to rejoin her team Naruko relaxed completely as Kakashi and Kushina then both stepped forward. The two Jonin took turns delivering their debriefings of the mission after the impromptu recon. It was well into the midnight hour upon the finishing of their verbal reports, and both stood waiting for the next questions. "And what do you suggest we do with the two prisoners from this mission? Neither one is a Konoha, or Fire country, citizen and should be turned over to their homes as criminals." With a slow exhale of smoke from the aged Sarutobi's pipe he eyed both Jonin expectantly.

Kushina was the first to speak up. "I request that Momochi Zabuza be put on a probationary period, and during that time be turned over to the care of the Uzumaki clan. We will be fair to him, and his student, while they are under our watch. As for the Yuki teen, he was never an official shinobi of Kirigakure as Zabuza found him after the Civil War for his homeland."

"And how do you plan to do so? As I am sure most, if not everyone, in this room knows that you and Momochi-san share an intimate past. The young heiress of the clan is also reportedly close to the man as well." Taking a drag of his pipe before blowing outwards again, Hiruzen eyed all the occupants of the room. "Both of these factors can cause your objective position to be less so on any issue of punishment if one should arise."

"With all due respect Hokage-sama, I disagree. I want Zabuza to stay in the village because of our past yes, however that will provide me with more reason to make sure he keeps in line until he is free from the probationary period and terms. I will also put forward the condition that during the time of his disciplinary period Zabuza will be placed under heavy ANBU observation, and have his chakra limited through the use of seals to be applied by a third party of your choice."

Hiruzen nodded his head. "Those are fair enough conditions. It may take some time for the seals, I will need to recall Jiraiya to the village." Taking a small puff from his pipe the man continued. "We will also have to call a meeting regarding their presence in the village. For now though, return home and rest, all of you." With a chorus of confirmation and polite bows, the group of seven ninja left the office and made their ways out onto the streets again.

As the group walked down the stairs Kakashi gathered the attention of his three students. "We will have a team meeting tomorrow at the Uzumaki Estate." Everyone agreed as they reached the bottom landing of the stairs. Once out of the building Kakashi and Sakura parted ways from the rest of the group, all of them heading to their respective homes. Upon return to the Uzumaki clan's home Sasuke was assigned to find a room for Haku to stay in before he went to bed, and Naruko hurried to her own room for the remainder of the night.

Kushina shucked off her vest and slid it into the closet near the entrance of her home before she pulled the tie from her hair. With a sigh and a relieved smile, the red head stretched out her back and allowed her shoulders to relax. With that done Kushina slipped off her sandals and placed them in the same closet as her vest.

Zabuza removed his own sandals while he stood next to the Uzumaki head as she tried to relax before he felt her hand slip into his carefully. Looking at her, Kushina's smile grew as her slim fingers flexed tighter around his own. Unseen because of the bandages covering his face, Zabuza returned the smile and squeezed his love's hand back. With that slight exchange between them Kushina pulled the man down the hall and up a flight of stairs to the second floor, and then to her room. Grabbing the top line of his bandage mask Kushina pulled the coverings away to claim his lips as she guided his head to the same level as hers.

In response Zabuza put a hand on the back of her thigh and lifts her closer to himself as he navigates them to the bed. Laying Kushina gently on the mattress Zabuza follows her down, not breaking the kiss, as his hands move to undo the belt of her pants before working on the clasp. Just as he feels the extra room made by the undoing of the pants a loud slap of water was heard hitting the floor of a room on the other side of the wall to Zabuza's back. Lightly pushing Zabuza off of her Kushina got to her feet before going and leaving the room.

Without leaving the top of the bed Zabuza heard what must have been the sound of the door to the room on the other side open with a loud bang followed by a growl. A second after the growl Kushina storms her way past the door to her room and slams open another door. "Naruko you better be in this room, or so help me I will hunt you down with the wrath of Kami at your heels!" A louder call of frustration sounds from this third room before Kushina storms back into her room. "You! You're the one who gave her the idea to send a Mizu Bunshin, with your story of having done it yourself, and because it didn't make a sound as it formed no one noticed her switch out with it." When the redhead was close enough she began to jab her finger into his chest. "Tomorrow, you are going out with Juugo and hunting her down so she can receive her punishment. And tonight, you better get yourself downstairs and onto the couch starting now. If you don't get going in three seconds, I will push you down the stairs myself."

With a heavy sigh and putting his hands in the air as surrender, the pale man got up from the bed and began to make his way. Stopping in the threshold of the room he turned his head back to look at her. "Can I at least get a blanket or something?" In response Kushina threw a sad, thin pillow at him. As he was about to ask about the blanket again he was suddenly gripped by the face and dragged from the room, his heels sliding along the floor before becoming airborne. Turning over in the air he landed on his feet and looked up the stairs. 'I just wanted a blanket.' Turning on the ball of his foot Zabuza began to look for the couch.

Zabuza was rudely awoken by Kushina the next morning. When she had come downstairs she found the tall man asleep on the couch, knees hanging over the arm of the two and a half person seat. Still angry over his part in the delinquency of her daughter the angered mother grabbed the bottom of the seat and lifted with enough force to send it over itself, depositing its sleeping contents onto the floor with a loud bang. Using a bit of chakra Kushina's voice projected throughout the household. "Everyone get up and come to the kitchen. House meeting, now."

Once all the occupants of the house gathered Kushina called the attention to herself. "You are each going to take a portion of Konoha, and look for Naruko. That means every training ground, clan compound, store, or restaurant." Seeing they all understood the job, her expression quickly grew exasperated. "Go! Now!"


End file.
